A Tauranga volunteer has been awarded the King’s Service Medal for her dedication to helping victims of crime and traumatic events.

Vicki Wood, who offered her time at Manaaki Tāngata Victim Support for nearly 25 years on top of working a fulltime job, says she's “surprised” and “honoured” upon finding out she has received the award.

She volunteered with Victim Support’s 24/7 call-out service for about 30 hours a week and was also a volunteer driver for the St John Hato Hone Health Shuttle about one day a week.

She says her role involved helping walk people through their “most vulnerable moments” and providing a listening ear, validating feelings and helping people feel normal during an abnormal time.

Vicki also gave practical help accessing information and guidance from government agencies and police, court and coronial proceedings.

While some people would only need Wood’s support once, she was often involved with victims of crime for years as they dealt with the lengthy court processes.

Vicki says the best part of her job was knowing she could make a difference.

“But it’s not massive, it’s just about getting people from a crisis point to a coping point.”

She started volunteering with Victim Support when she was 30 after she took up a fulltime business job and missed the not-for-profit work she gave up.

“I felt like something was missing that served my soul - I can’t imagine not being involved with volunteering in some way.”

She says it was important for her to separate their emotions from her work, otherwise she would be “swamped”.

“You have to debrief outside of the job and have friends that fill up your cup.”

Victim Support helps about 50,000 victims every year across Aotearoa. Its support is free and available even if the crime is not reported to the police.

-Bay of Plenty Times.