Families impacted by violent crime calling for more supports from Victim Services

It’s been just over a year since Vanessa Roulette lost her brother, 38-year-old Cory Roulette, when he was shot in his room by three strangers.

On August 26, 2023, police were called to 583 Furby Street after reports of a shooting. Police said the three suspects, who were unknown to Cory, forced their way into his room and shot him after Cory confronted them. He was taken to hospital but later died of his injuries.

While the suspects face second-degree murder charges, Vanessa and her family have been in limbo with Victim Services. She says it took nearly a year for them to contact her family.

“It’s the first that I spoke to them since my brother’s murderers were arrested. One of them was released and I was the last one to find out about this release,” said Vanessa.

It was news that Vanessa says hurt and angered her. She found out Thursday through another call with that the person was re-arrested again in late July — something that she says wasn’t mentioned during her first call with Victim Services. It was bittersweet for the 44-year-old, as though she said she “cried for joy” in hearing the news, she’s still angry communication with Victim Services hasn’t been consistent or timely.

“We need to be heard, not shut away and thrown under the rug because there’s families out there that need support. It took exactly 1 year to have that support.”

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Related: Family of Winnipeg man killed seeking supports

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Victim Services did not comment directly on Roulette’s case, saying it’s available to help navigate through processes with different parts of the justice system, but involvement with the service is voluntary. Roulette has confirmed she’s now in touch with Victim Services after she called on different organizations to help.

“It’s about getting the people that are needing that help connected with the right people. To be able to see them further into what they’re going through,” said Melissa Robinson, co-chair of Morgan’s Warriors.

Robinson says when the Roulette family reached out, she began working to get them supports put in place right away. She says within days, Vanessa’s contact with Victim Services began.

“I get everyone’s busy and everyone has huge files that they’re working on but at the same token, it’s groups like us. You know, the groups that are on the front lines. The groups that are doing the work in the community, we want families to know that we’re there for them.”

Robinson, whose family is only just beginning the healing process after getting justice for the death of her cousin, Morgan Harris, says she’s familiar with the process of navigating through Victim Services. She says she’s had many families reaching out to her and Morgan’s Warriors over the past few months since it was established.

“There’s definitely not enough services out there,” explained Robinson.

Vanessa says she’s also received support from First Nations Indigenous Warriors, who she says supported her through the one-year memorial of Cory’s death and continue to be with her. But above all, she says the Southern Chiefs’ Organization has been her family’s main source of support since Cory was murdered.

“This is what has helped our family.”

More supports for MMIMB — Missing and Murdered Indigenous Men and Boys

Joseph Munro, a community advocate, says more support needs to be in place for Indigenous men and their families impacted by violent crimes.

“Many of our men don’t know how to be a man anymore due to the fact that we don’t have men teaching us what it is that is right, what it is that is wrong,” said Munro.

“What I’m helping these families with today, I never had that support back then.”

Munro, whose brother was murdered in 1985, says more needs to be done to address the root problem: Indigenous men and youth having positive male role models in their lives. He says too many Indigenous men end up incarcerated and separated from their families, further passing down the trauma.

“Our family has been under attack for generations. Our people are in need of help,” said Munro.

“I feel that sometimes our men are misrepresented in this world today. I think we need to as men, stand up and show what a man is supposed to be … That is protecting our women. Protecting our children. That is the most important job today.”

Munro says part of the healing is also accepting each other as relatives, as Morgan’s Warriors and First Nations Indigenous Warriors has done for Vanessa.

“We look at her as family now … I think that’s what we need to do is be more adoptive towards ‘outside people’ when they come in needing help,” said Munro.

Vanessa adding,” I reached out … to Morgan’s Warriors to support my family for the one-year memorial of my brother. They stayed with me ever since.”

Vanessa hopes people remember her brother for who he was and not just what happened to him. She wants people to remember him as a joker who cared about his family.

“We had family time where we sat with grandma and mom and, you know. Have soup and bannock. Watch movies. That’s how I remember him,” said Vanessa.

“I was sitting with my sister the other day and she goes, ‘I miss our baby brother. I used to walk home with him from school when we were small.’ These are how we need to keep him alive.”

As Vanessa looks forward, preparing for the pre-trial for those charged with Cory’s death, she says she’s working on healing even though she feels she still doesn’t have time to grieve.

“If you have never been through this kind of grief, especially losing a brother through such violence, it’s different,” she said.

“I am the voice for my brother and I’ll continue to be the voice for him.”

Roulette is expecting the pre-trial to begin in early October.