Advocating for those who have experienced trauma

When Lynn Glaze looks back on her work monitoring sexual assault cases in the First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe, she recalls a quote by the late Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist.

“Justice is too important a matter to be left to the judges, or even the lawyers,” Rehnquist had said. “The American people must think about, discuss and contribute to the future planning for their courts.”

Glaze, 57, was looking for a way to become more involved in the community in 2004, when she saw an advertisement in the newspaper seeking applicants for Solace Crisis Treatment Center ’s court monitor program, which allowed advocates to sit in on proceedings in sexual assault cases, with a goal of building a bridge between the court system and the community.

“I wanted to make sure that the work that I volunteered for provided a certain value to the community and myself,”

Glaze said. “This was such a wonderful match, as not only was I able to provide much-needed services, but the program was tremendously successful for our community.”

Notes taken by Glaze and other monitors would help push the court in a more “victim-centric” direction, informing new laws benefiting survivors of sexual crimes, while also ensuring fair treatment for defendants, Glaze said.

The program disbanded in 2006 due to a lack of funding, she said, but she has since put the training and experience to good use.

Glaze transitioned into a victim’s advocate volunteer position at the nonprofit Solace, where she worked directly with those who had experienced trauma, either from sexual assault, a fatal accident, human trafficking or time spent in the military. She would take calls on the organization’s crisis hotline and would later meet victims or their families at a hospital or Solace’s rape crisis center.

August marked Glaze’s 16th year with Solace Crisis Treatment Center. She offers the presence of a veteran advocate and a calming voice to people who have experienced sexual assault and other types of trauma.

Her work for the nonprofit has earned Glaze the honor of being one of The New Mexican’s 10 Who Made a Difference for 2020.

María José Rodríguez Cádiz, executive director of Solace Crisis Treatment Center, nominated Glaze for the award, writing, “Her diligence in working within the judicial system … and her dedication to community members who have suffered sexual violence to date has played an invaluable role in transforming victims into survivors, and improving the process of securing justice for those who have experienced the epidemic and heinous crime of sexual violence.” Glaze, the daughter of two members of the U.S. Air Force, calls herself a “military brat.” During her childhood, she moved almost every year or two to a different country or state, and she spent most of her early childhood primarily in England.

Seeing so much of the U.S. and other cultures helped her become who she is today, Glaze said.

She earned a degree in logistics, business information systems and marketing from Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville, Ga. She later started a career in finance, eventually working as a bank district manager.

Her background in finance was put to good use in 2011-12, when she served on Solace’s board of directors, using her expertise to help bring vital financial stability to the organization. In 2013, she became a trained member of Solace’s hotline and served multiple holiday, weekend and late-night hours answering the calls of those in crisis.

That service became increasingly important amid the coronavirus pandemic as the state shut down, people remained isolated in their homes with growing economic struggles and incidents of partner violence began to rise.

Prior to the start of the pandemic, sexual violence numbers in New Mexico were already concerning. Statewide data shows 1 in 4 women, 1 in 20 men and 1 in 2 transgender people in

New Mexico experience sexual violence in their lifetimes.

Glaze fears those numbers will continue to rise as COVID-19 cases spike to unprecedented levels and people largely remain in isolation.

Cádiz said advocates at Solace have seen a 30 percent increase in requests for service over the past year and a half. In July, Solace received 436 calls. A month later, that number more than doubled to 913.

The organization has continued to evolve throughout the pandemic, modifying practices to offer telehealth services and in-person emergency forensic interviews for children and youth in abuse cases, even throughout the governor ’s stay-at-home orders.

“This pandemic has caused such uncertainty in everyday lives, especially in the areas of family relationships, food, housing and everyday expenses,” Glaze said.

“If each of us only provides emotional support to a fellow friend or stranger,” she added, “then we all flourish as a community.”