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A resolution recognizing Carol Etherington Fossick, founder of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department’s Victim Intervention Program, and the 50th anniversary of the program.
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WHEREAS, Vanderbilt graduate nursing student Carol Etherington completed an intensive practicum with Metro Nashville Police Department in 1975. During this experience, she witnessed intense trauma experienced by victims of violent crime and presented her concerns to the newly elected Mayor Richard Fulton; and
WHEREAS, in coordination with Chief Joe Casey, Ms. Etherington was hired on October 1, 1975, as the first mental health professional to work with Nashville law enforcement by intervening with crime victims; and
WHEREAS, additional professional mental health counselors were hired to meet the needs of victims of violent crime, and the Victim Intervention Program (“VIP”) was founded. Through the next decade, the program expanded under the leadership of Amy Griffith Taylor with additional counselors and victim advocates providing services to thousands of victims; and
WHEREAS, in 1995, members of VIP’s “Forever” homicide group suggested the framework for the “Season to Remember”, a ceremony acknowledging grief and loss of homicide victims’ families. Now in its 31st year, “Season” continues to follow Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa traditions; and
WHEREAS, since 2017, the program has also created an altar at the Cheekwood Dia De Los Muertos event, memorializing Hispanic homicide victims. The photographs displayed on the altar have grown from seven to more than fifty; and
WHEREAS, through the ensuing years, the program has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice and the International Association Chiefs of Police; and
WHEREAS, in 2016, VIP merged with the Domestic Violence Division Counseling Services under the leadership of Heidi Bennett, and is now called the Family Intervention Program; and
WHEREAS, now in its fiftieth year, the program continues counseling and advocacy for victims of crime and training for police recruits, graduate students, other professionals, and the community at large under the leadership of Kim Page; and
WHEREAS, it is fitting and proper for the Metropolitan Council to recognize the Family Intervention Program and its founder Carol Etherington Fossick for their efforts to provide immediate, free, and professional counseling services to anyone who endures trauma as a result of a crime.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY:
Section 1. The Metropolitan Council hereby goes on record as recognizing and celebrating founder Carol Etherington Fossick and the 50th Anniversary of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department’s Victim Intervention Program.
Section 2. The Metropolitan Council Office is directed to prepare a copy of this Resolution to be presented to Carol Etherington Fossick.
Section 3. This Resolution shall take effect from and after its adoption, the welfare of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County requiring it.