Holly Johnson, Tooele County's victim/witness advocate, was honored yesterday in Salt Lake City by the Utah Domestic Violence Council for her work in family violence prevention.

Johnson, 48, who has been a victim's advocate since 1991, feels that the most important aspect of her job is to give a voice to the victims who come through her door.

"Mine is the office that you never want to find yourself in," Johnson said, adding that most of the victims she sees know nothing about the criminal justice system. "I wish I didn't have a job, but because there are victims, I do."

Most of Johnson's job is just to meet with the victims and listen to their story. She is not a therapist or a social worker, nor is she a prosecutor or an investigator. She simply listens and, when need be, becomes the voice of the victims. In the courtroom, Johnson will sit alongside a young victim who testifies, or she will read a victim's statement, called a 'letter of impact,' at a sentencing hearing.

Johnson is a nationally credentialed advocate who moved to Grantsville from Wyoming in 2003. She said there was no advocate for victims at the 3rd District Court then, and most attorneys weren't sure what an advocate's job was.

Although Johnson works out the Tooele County District Attorney's office, her salary is paid for by a grant from the federal Office for Victims of Crime. The grant comes through the Utah Office of Crime Victim Reparations.

Victims from all walks of life come through her office door.

"An advocate listens, listens, listens," she said.

Johnson helps victims find the assistance they need, whether it be monetary reparation, counseling or even relocation.

As a member of the county's Domestic Violence Collation, she also helps coordinate activities such as last week's candlelight vigil to honor survivors and victims of domestic abuse.

"I wish we could get 1,000 people out to the candlelight vigil," she said.

Johnson said over the past few years people have become better informed regarding domestic violence. Victims speak out more and more domestic violence cases are prosecuted. But, she said, there is still 'victim blaming.' Victims she meets with often hear that they became victims by their own bad choices.

"There still needs to be more awareness," she said.

Johnson said that awareness comes from friends and family members getting involved by telling someone they know that there is help available in the form of a crisis line, a shelter and money to help the victims of violent crime and domestic abuse.

"It's still hard for a lot of women to make that call," she said.

The Tooele County Domestic Violence Hotline number is 882-6888.