Jan Jackson ’14, ’17 (M) works on the front lines of victim advocacy

When it came to a vocation, Jan Jackson ’14, ’17 (M) always knew she’d be able to handle the emotionally tough work.

“My father was a police officer, so I was fortunate to grow up watching him compartmentalize the hard things that you see on the job,” she said. “I learned that as a kid, and it just came naturally once I entered the field. You put things aside; work is work, and you don’t take it home with you when you walk out the door.”

Jackson, who grew up in New Jersey, dreamed of being a police officer and protecting the most vulnerable in society. She decided to major in administration of justice, but as she took psychology and social work classes, she realized that another path was opening up for her – that of a counselor working directly with victims.

Earning a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling

Jackson completed her bachelor’s degree in administration of justice in 2014 and then began a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling. She also jumped into the mental health field quickly, finding a job as a case manager and vocational specialist at Newport Mental Health with the help of program director Dr. Judith Drew.

“She was nothing but supportive about everything and anything that you would come to her with,” Jackson said. “Right from the get-go, she was like, ‘You need to be in the field, you need to be experiencing real life situations.’”

At Newport Mental Health, Jackson began to realize how much she loved the mental health field and working with people in crisis. “It gave me really great experience,” she said. “I think it was so important to do the hands-on work at the same time as learning the textbook concepts in school. Because you can’t know how to authentically and therapeutically interact with people experiencing trauma with just the guidance of a textbook.”

Working for victims across Rhode Island

Jackson stayed at Newport County Mental Health for three years while she finished her master’s degree. Since then, she has worked with Victims of Crime Act grant programs through Family Service of Rhode Island and at Gateway Healthcare as a victim assistance provider for the Rhode Island State Police. She’s also worked as a trafficking victim advocate. She is currently a crisis clinician at BH Link and has a per diem position with Community Care Alliance as a mobile clinician assisting East Bay police departments with calls related to mental health and substance abuse.

These opportunities to work on the frontline of victim advocacy have been extremely rewarding. “You get to help people that are experiencing some of the worst moments in their life and looking for someone to say, ‘I understand that this is horrible, but we can get through it,’” she said. “When a victim has just gone through a traumatic event, it’s hard for the brain to make sense of things and foresee that you’re going to be okay, so it’s really important to have someone in your corner that can calmly and confidently tell you that things are going to get better.”

For Jackson, helping someone navigate the most difficult circumstances is her life’s calling. And while she may have thought being a police officer was the only way she was going to do it, she knows now that victim advocacy is her niche in the world of criminal justice.

“If I didn’t go for that master’s, I don’t think I would’ve found my passion in counseling victims,” she said. “I always thought I’d be on the other side as a law enforcement officer or something like that, but here I am working alongside law enforcement and still doing something I love.”