Seminole County victim advocate coordinator honored with FOX 35 Care Force Award

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. - FOX 35 is recognizing the work of a special kind of first responder – a victim advocate.

Often times they are some of the first ones on the scene of a crisis or trauma.

Victim advocates like Linmary Green often meet people during the worst hours and days of their lives.

They provide support and assistance through all sorts of trauma, like a child drowning, fatal fires, shootings and violence.

"I knew that it would mean a lot of sleepless nights," Green said. "I knew that it would be giving up and sacrificing a lot of my personal time, even time with family. But I felt the reward far surpassed those sacrifices for what I think I was led to do."

Green has been working as a victim advocate coordinator for the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office for ten years.

"Mine specifically are domestic violence cases, and so I review those every single day," Green said. "Over the weekend I could have anywhere from 12-15, or it could be more. Per day, I would say at most 10."

When on the scene, she and other victim advocates stay on the scene as long as they are needed to provide emotional support and to steer them to services that can help.

"The biggest thing is you’re not alone," Green said. "You don’t have to go through it alone. There are so many resources and so many things we can put in place to help you."

Green describes this line of work as a calling.

"I felt like I was called here," Green said. "Our team is a team of serious soldiers who will go to bat til the end of the day to do absolutely anything we possibly can to help families in need in their most dire situations."

"She has impacted so many people," Victim Advocate Supervisor Saundra Blanding said. "She has never waivered from her commitment. And hardly asks for the amount of time off that she should given the challenges that I know she has dealt with."