For a child coping with violence, a coloring page, a walk, or someone willing to listen can offer a moment of comfort. Those acts of care helped earn Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office investigator Lora Scott a written commendation for her service to victims.
Mary Beth Burkes, a domestic violence advocate with People Inc. of Virginia, praised Scott in a Sept. 17 letter to Buchanan County Sheriff Allen Boyd, describing an investigator whose compassion extends beyond the demands of gathering evidence and working cases.
Burkes wrote that she had personally observed Scott’s work in several juvenile cases and witnessed her patience, attentiveness and concern for the young people involved.
“I have seen her demonstrate an extraordinary level of patience, compassion, attentiveness, and genuine care for the victims she serves,” Burkes wrote.
The letter described Scott spending hours with young victims — coloring, drawing, playing games, taking walks and talking. Burkes said those moments help provide a sense of normalcy for children facing circumstances that are anything but normal.
“For a child whose sense of safety and innocence has been shattered by the actions of another person, those moments matter,” she wrote.
Burkes said having a caring adult nearby can reassure children that they are not alone and that someone cares about what happens to them.
The commendation also highlighted Scott’s humility. Burkes wrote that other acts of kindness could be shared, but she believed Scott would prefer to keep them private.
“It is obvious that she does not serve victims for recognition or praise. She simply sees a need and responds to it,” Burkes wrote.
Throughout the letter, Burkes emphasized Scott’s ability to balance her investigative responsibilities with concern for the person at the center of each case. Victims, she wrote, may be frightened, confused and struggling to understand what happened to them.
Burkes said the difference Scott makes may never appear in a report or be measured in statistics, but can remain with the people she helps throughout their lives.
“Please know that her efforts have been noticed, they are deeply appreciated, and they matter,” Burkes wrote.
