Last year we offered immediate support to over 14,000 people affected by crime in West Mercia, and gave in-depth support to more than 1,900 people.

One of the people we’ve helped to cope after crime is Tony.

“Without Fiona, I would have died – there’s no doubt about that.”

Tony’s son Darrell had been missing for 13 years before he was found on a farm near Newport in Wales. He had been held captive, beaten and forced to work for no pay. Tony was thrilled to have his son home but he soon began to feel overwhelmed by the new challenges facing his family. Here he describes the life-saving help he received from Fiona, a volunteer from Victim Support in Kidderminster.

Although it was the best day of our lives when we found Darrell, the weeks and months after became more and more difficult.

Life at home completely changed. Before, things were calm: I could get up when I wanted to, do little jobs around the house, take myself out for a walk. When Darrell came home, he had a lot of health issues so every day we were taking him to the dentist, chiropodist, hospitals, doctors and surgeons. We’d never experienced anything like this and my wife was on the phone every day, in tears, trying to get the authorities to help us to help Darrell. But they hadn’t had a case like this before and they didn’t know what to do.

Jean and I had been married 44 years and we’d never had cross words, but suddenly we were falling out. We had always been so close and everything was perfect – then all of a sudden it wasn’t. I couldn’t cope. I didn’t want to get up in the morning and I couldn’t wait to get to bed at night.

I was a bit apprehensive about getting help from Victim Support. I’d always been able to sort myself out – I’m self-sufficient. But I realised that with the terrible state I was in, there was no harm in going. That’s when I met Fiona. At our first meeting, she asked me to tell her everything I wanted to tell her, and we’d take it from there. She helped me write a list of ways to cope – things to do when a certain situation arose. I carried Fiona’s tips around in my wallet for ages – it was very, very helpful.

Fiona helped me understand why Darrell couldn’t talk to us. He would just say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to everything. It was like he didn’t want to speak to us and I found it very difficult.

My weekly appointments with Fiona became a lifeline. During my worst times, seeing my sessions with Fiona written on the calendar kept me going. I knew that I could tell her exactly how I was feeling at that moment, and she would say something to alleviate my feelings.

Without Fiona, I would have died – there’s no doubt about that. She could see that I had become suicidal and she did everything she could and more to help me.

Things are much better now. Darrell is unrecognisable to the person he was a year ago – he’s in his own bungalow and with small, slow steps, we’re helping him turn his life around. My relationship with Jean is better too.

We will do anything we can for Victim Support because without them, we wouldn’t be where we are now.  Everyone from Victim Support has gone beyond the call of duty for us. I’d recommend them without a doubt.