Survivor advocates, victim services and youth commissioners update Clearfield City Council

At a Clearfield City Council meeting, a survivor recounted past abuse and urged continued support for victims; the council also heard from Theresa, the city's victim advocate, who described services and response statistics for 2024.

"In last year, 2024, the Clearfield City Police responded to 63 *** offenses," Theresa said, adding that her office works with Safe Harbor to connect survivors with services and can assist victims whether or not they choose to make a police report.

Jenna Nelson, who described herself as a survivor and an advocate for legislative changes, said she helped push for a statutory change that extended the statute of limitations for certain crimes. "Thanks to house bill 247 out of 2020, the statute of limitations now gives a minor until age 28 to report *** crimes committed against them between the ages of 14 and 18," Nelson said.

Mayor Mark Shepherd said the city has created a permanent victim-services position and that the council had "made that permanent declaration of [harassment and abuse awareness] month," so a formal annual proclamation would not be necessary going forward.

Earlier in the meeting, Addison Adams, chair of the Clearfield City Youth Commission, and Ian Barlow, vice chair, briefed the council on recent commission activity, including tours of the police station, a new fire station visit and a mosquito-abatement tour. Adams said the youth commission plans to attend the National League of Cities conference next year and noted former commission members had gone on to attend Brown and Harvard.

Theresa said the victim-advocate program supports survivors through the criminal-justice process and beyond, helping them decide whether to report and connecting them to resources.

No formal action was recorded on the victim-services discussion at the meeting; Theresa and Nelson used the council time to inform elected officials and the public about local services and legal changes.