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Today, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced the hiring of Tanishia G. Wright, the new Director of the office’s Bureau of Victim Services.

Ms. Wright was hired after a national search and will lead the bureau as it provides crime victims with clinical services that will help them through the healing process. She will greatly expand the services provided by the office, providing trauma-informed care to all those who need and want it. She also will spearhead efforts to expand services to victims whether or not the office is able to bring a case or whether the victim wants to see the prosecution through.

“I am proud that Tanishia G. Wright has agreed to join my team and will help bring trauma-informed care to crime victims throughout Los Angeles County as they embark on the journey to becoming survivors,” District Attorney Gascón said. “She brings a depth of experience that will help victims heal and recover mentally, physically and emotionally.”

“I am thrilled and honored to be working for a District Attorney who places a priority on victims’ needs,” Wright said. “I hope that my expertise will help those who have been harmed or wronged receive the healing and justice they deserve on their road from being a victim to being a survivor.”

District Attorney offices have traditionally promised crime victims one thing: prosecution. This office neglected to help victims get services they need, often leaving them to struggle financially, emotionally and medically. This binary approach to victimization is unacceptable, and with Ms. Wright at the helm, the office is committed to expanding how the office helps and supports victims.

In addition to expanding the Bureau of Victim Services, District Attorney Gascón established the office’s first Crime Victims Advisory Board. The board assisted in the search process for the Bureau of Victim Services director. District Attorney Gascón also has worked with the Board of Supervisors to increase the number of victim services representatives in the office.

Wright, with more than a decade of experience, will oversee a staff of 78 victim service representatives. She will be responsible for leading, planning, organizing and evaluating the operations of the Bureau of Victim Services and also will implement innovative, groundbreaking programs to further evolve and grow victim services in the District Attorney’s Office.

“For too long, we have had a myopic view of how to support victims, one that largely treated them as tools in a trial and nothing more,” said Tiffiny Blacknell, Special Advisor to District Attorney George Gascón. “With Tanishia Wright at the helm, our office changes that and will offer victims numerous tools as they go on their journey to healing. She will lead an agency committed to connecting people with the services and support that they need. I could not be more thrilled to have her join us.”

Most recently, Wright worked for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, where she was Director of Programs at MLK Community Healing and Trauma Prevention Center. There, she developed and implemented trauma-informed programs aimed at reducing toxic stress and trauma prevention for victims of crime, including abuse and gun violence.

Among her many accomplishments, Wright has successfully led contract agencies in an obesity prevention initiative to implement over 22 active community gardens in underserved communities for the Department of Public Health and has helped secure $2 million dollars in funding to bring grocery stores to food deserts in Los Angeles while working at Community Health Councils.

Wright has a Master of Science degree from Mount Saint Mary’s University, Los Angeles, in counseling psychology and a Post-Master of Science degree in trauma-informed care from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix. She received her Bachelor of Arts from University of California, Los Angeles.

Earlier today, the Prosecutors Alliance Center for Survivor Policy released a report showing that crime survivors need more support for a significant duration after a crime and they want advocates who have trauma-informed training or who also are survivors.

The survey of more than 700 participants found that 61 percent of victims are offered compensation after a crime occurred and 55 percent said they did not have money to pay for out-of-pocket expenses, so they opted not to access services or relocate. When asked if there was anything that was needed more, 53 percent of survivors responded emotional support, including someone to talk to, to listen to, crisis support and counseling.

The Bureau of Victim Services is one of the oldest and largest programs of its kind in the United States, with victim services representatives who work in courthouses and police stations throughout the county and provide an array of services.

Victim services representatives are available to assist victims in several languages. Services are provided free of charge and there is no legal residency or citizenship requirement. For more information, call the Bureau of Victim Services at (800) 380-3811.