GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — More Than A Number is a Poynter-Stand Together award-winning project created by Justin Baxley designed to help families of loved ones impacted by tragedy and trauma interact with journalists in a less intrusive way.
More Than a Number is a commitment to compassionately cover the victims of tragedy or violent crime and give a voice to their survivors.
We want to humanize victims and avoid the negative stereotypes that often accompany traditional crime coverage.
If you or someone you know is a crime victim or surviving family of a crime, there is help available. 13 ON YOUR SIDE compiled a list of services to get you started.
More Than A Number is a project first started by 13 ON YOUR SIDE sister station WMAZ in Macon, Georgia.
It's the work of Justin Baxley through his Poynter-Koch Media and Journalism Fellowship. Victim's advocacy is especially personal for Justin, who lost his father in a robbery.
Justin went through a horrifying experience when someone shot and killed his father Michael Baxley, and it inspired him to take a different approach to how journalists report on victims of tragedies.
"Within two hours of me finding out, I received five phone calls asking me for an interview, and I would say I'm not ready yet, and they'd call back in an hour and say, are you ready now," he recalled.
"Overwhelmed and a lack of empathy and a lack of compassion for what I'd gone through, and it was like I had to be beholden to their 24-hour news cycle," Justin said.
Justin wishes he had talked to the media after his father's murder. But he wasn't ready when reporters wanted to talk to him. He believes someone with information might have come forward if he had shared his father's story in the days after his death.
The More Than A Number initiative allows families and loved ones of victims to open up about them on their own time.
13 ON YOUR SIDE also hosts a West Michigan Homicide Memorial Page for those homicide victims in our community. It serves as a reminder of the lives lost and the families impacted by the violence.
We provide a resource guide that can get you started with insurance, crime scene cleanup, and counseling options.
If you have questions or concerns, you can email us at news@13onyourside.com.
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