THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 27, 1995 TAG: 9504250126
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: In The Neighborhoods
SOURCE: Mike Knepler
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
Gerald Stokes jokes about not having his mom's green thumb.
This week, Stokes is finding he has a valuable skill for a different type of gardening: ``Planting Seeds - Harvesting Justice.''
That's the 1995 theme of National Crime Victims' Rights Week. And Stokes is right there, trying to cultivate compassion.
Stokes is a restitution specialist in the victim-witness assistance program of the Norfolk commonwealth's attorney office.
``My main job is to help innocent victims, especially those of violent crimes, to help them along through the criminal-justice system and to be a point of contact when their restitution is not being paid,'' Stokes said.
At age 23, Stokes already approaches his work with wisdom of the ages. His guiding philosophy, he said, comes from a saying by the philosopher Confucius: ``Choose a job you love and you will never work a day in your life.''
Because this is National Crime Victims' Rights Week, Stokes also is helping coordinate some consciousness-raising programs, including distribution of 1,000 flower-seed packages with the ``Harvesting Justice'' motto and planting three ornamental pear trees in Berkley.
The flowers and trees were the result of some brainstorming sessions by the Norfolk victim-witness program staff, led by Nancy Court.
Flowers ``seemed like a natural thing to do, especially for reaching younger children,'' Stokes said. ``We thought that maybe seed packages will give something for kids and parents to do together, and something where they could see the results.
``It's an example of starting with nothing and growing into something much larger. It's also touching the kids with something fun.''
The idea for planting trees in Berkley also was personal for Stokes. ``The week I took this job last November, we had a few homicides in Berkley,'' he said, recalling that he helped counsel the victims' families.
``I thought that as part of victims' week, it would be good to do something in Berkley, which is kind of out of the mainstream of the rest of the city, and not a lot of positive things are happening over there,'' said Stokes, who lives in the neighborhood with his mother, Louise. ``I thought it would be a great way to bring some attention to Berkley.''
Cities across the country are commemorating Victims' Rights Week in their own ways. ``Some are having fashion shows or candlelight vigils,'' Stokes said. ``But we wanted something that always will be there as a symbol, trees that blossom every year in April.''
The trees were planted at the Southside Boys & Girls Club, a popular site in Berkley. There's also a plaque dedicated ``to all victims of crime'' in Norfolk, Stokes said. It was donated by Virginia Art Metal & Plastic Co.
Also this week, posters by children at Bowling Park Elementary School are displayed in City Hall.
How safe are we? Here's what General District Court Judge Reid Spencer recently told members of the Bayview Civic League:
``I'm astonished. I'm frightened really by the number of people going about the city armed, the number of automobiles riding around the streets with loaded guns under the seats.
``More and more we are seeing situations where people have relatively small traffic offenses with another automobile. . . but end up taking shots at each other.''
Spencer said he sees cases ``at least once a week'' in his court but believes there are 10 times as many incidents not coming to court.
``There are too many guns out on the streets in the pockets of people subject to temper tantrums,'' he said. by CNB