Carol Shute can laugh and joke now, finding joy in her family and putting in long hours at her job. But there was a time six years ago, two years after the murder, in June 2000, of her daughter, Amy, that her grief felt overwhelming. The trials and sentencing of the five men who kidnapped and murdered Amy and her friend, Jason Burgeson, were so difficult to endure that she found it hard to get out of bed in the morning.

But the Rhode Island Crime Victim Compensation Program helped her find Marion Humphrey, a grief counselor.

Through the program, Carol learned “that grief is a long process –– it never goes away.” She scoffs at the adage that time heals all wounds. “It’s totally incorrect,” she says. “You just learn to live with them.” Though three years later, she is no longer in counseling, she says she’d go back to it if she needed it.

According to Judith A. Farley, administrator of the program that is run out of the general treasurer’s office, victims and their families can be compensated for up to $25,000. Compensation may include $5,000 in funeral expenses, counseling, food, shelter and disability assistance, plus referrals to other available services.

The program, which averages about 350 claims a year, is financed through the state and federal court systems from costs defendants are required to pay for their crimes. Victims of violent crimes and their families are eligible. “We’ve helped victims of a DUI offense, for instance, get wheelchair ramps or prosthesis,” Farley says.

Carol says that it was hard to ask for help. “When you’re sad, to ask for help and you don’t know where to go –– it sets you back even more.”

One of Carol’s fears was that letting go of the grief and anger might mean letting go of her memories of Amy. Now, she says, “When we think about Amy, we think about the good times.”

“Counseling helped me to get to that point,” Carol says. “It’s a lot of hard work; you’re angry, you want to give up. But personally it was the best thing for me.” She hopes more people will learn about the program because it can “make a dramatic difference in their lives.”

“It’s been eight years,” Carol says. “I have good days, bad days.” But counseling has taught her some methods to help her cope with the bad times. She talks about her two other daughters who she says gave her a reason to go on with life. “But [Amy] is the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing I think about at night. It doesn’t go away.”