If you are a victim of drunk driving in need of immediate assistance (outside of the State Office's normal business hours of 8:30-5 M-F), please call MADD's toll-free help line at 1-877-MADD-HELP (1-877-623-4357) to speak with a counselor who is ready to help you.

We seek to provide victim services to aid families whose loved ones have been killed or injured as a result of an impaired driving crash.

We will continue to create public awareness regarding the problems caused by impaired driving. We will work to help strengthen legislation, which will toughen drinking and driving laws. We will also continue to monitor the courts to encourage consistent sentencing.

MADD's Victim Services

You could not have been prepared for the sudden death or injury of someone you care about in a drunk driving crash. MADD South Carolina's 23 Victim Advocates along with the State Victim Services Coordinator, Traci Thompson, are here to support injured victims, help the bereaved, and assist with the judicial process.  Traci can be reached at (803) 748-7333 or Traci.Thompson@madd.org.

If you are coping with trauma of an impaired driving crash, we can offer:           

• Victim Assistance.  If you wish to have help on a one-to-one basis.           
• Grief Support.        For injured and surviving victims, a time to share with others.           
• Legal advocacy.    If you have a question regarding court processes.
  

Resources for Victims and Survivors

This list provides toll-free numbers and other contact information for a variety of agencies that are helpful to victims and survivors of a violent crime or crisis.

• South Carolina Victim Assistance Network
  1900 Broad River Road
  Columbia, SC  29210
  Internet address:  http://www.scvan.org
  803-750-1200
  
  
• South Carolina State Office of Victim Assistance (SOVA)
  1205 Pendleton Street
  Edgar Brown Building, Room 401
  Columbia, SC 29201
  Internet address:  http://www.govoepp.state.sc.us/sova
  Victim's line:  800-220-5370
  Office Phone:  803-734-190
  
  
• South Carolina Crime Victim Ombudsman
  Internet address:  http://www.govoepp.state.sc.us/cvo.htm
  803-734-0357
  
  
• South Carolina Department of Public Safety
  5400 Broad River Road
  Columbia, SC  29212
  Internet address:  http://www.scdps.org
  803-896-7839
  
  
• Office for Victims of Crime
  810 7th Street, NW
  Washington, DC  20531
  Internet address:  http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc
  
  
• National Organization For Victim Assistance
  1730 Park Road, NW
  Washington, DC  20010
  Internet address:  http://try-nova.org
  (800) try-nova
  
  Civil Attorney Referrals:
• SC Bar Association
  800-868-2284 or 803-799-7100
  
  Counseling Resources:
• American Psychiatric Association (SC)
  888-357-7924
  
• Mental Health Psychology of SC
  877-640-7272
  
• South Carolina Department of Mental Health
  800-763-1024

In celebration of MADD's 25 years of serving and supporting victims/survivors of drunk driving, the first-ever national victim services awareness campaign is being unveiled Wednesday, January 26, 2005.  We are very proud and excited about this effort as it has truly been a labor of great care and collaboration of minds.  This important campaign would not have been possible without the generous support and funding by the US Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance and Office for Victims of Crime.  The materials produced in this campaign include a  30-second television PSA, two different 60-second radio PSAs, print PSAs in English and Spanish, billboards in six US cities, and new brochures and workbooks for victims. --Excerpt from a letter written by Debbie Weir, Director of Victim Services at MADD National

Here are high-resolution (broadband) PDF files available to download.  Left-click on the links to view.  Right-click on the links to save.  Media can also request a CD of the PSAs by contacting Amy George at (800)438-6233 x4493 or at amy.george@madd.org.

-  English (PDF)
-  En Espanol  (PDF)

Left click on the .mp3 file name to listen to the radio PSAs.  Right click and choose 'Save Target As' to download.  Radio stations can request a CD by contacting Amy George at (800)438-6233 x4493 or atamy.george@madd.org.

"Where I was...." (.mp3)

'Damages' (.mp3)

Click on the image to preview the :30 PSA.
 (Windows Media Player required.)

TV stations can request a Beta SP tape by contacting Amy George  at (800)438-6233 x4493 or amy.george@madd.org

The Day Before Mother's Day In 1983-- A beautiful poem written by Joye Atkinson.