Very often, the people who do the greatest work in our lives toil in anonymity, rarely receiving thanks or recognition. My family was lucky enough that we could give both to a group of Coloradans that goes above and beyond, yet is known by very few.

When my wife answered our phone in Chicago,Ill. at 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 28, 2004, she heard my sister sob, "Caitlyn's dead!"

Our 15-year-old niece, Caitlyn Craig, and two friends, Brian Ellsworth and Michael Heykoop, had been killed in a car crash in Littleton, Colorado.

I stumbled out of bed - as the oldest sibling, I knew I had to take care of the family, yet I had no idea what to expect or what to do. Luckily, an angel was waiting for me in Colorado.

Usually, when we use the phrase "Your tax dollars at work," we are being derogatory, citing long lines at government offices, lost paperwork or shoddy road construction. But in Colorado, your tax dollars support the Colorado State Patrol's Victim's Assistance Unit. Our angel in waiting, Dolores Mitchell, heads that unit.

She arrived the next day, a short, blonde whirling dervish full of true concern and compassion. She hugged us, held our hands, answered our questions and asked some of her own.

She made it clear that she was now "ours" and she has been for the past two and a half years. She helped with funeral arrangements, recovery of items from the car, paperwork and a hundred other things.

As she told me, "...When the car is towed it's only the beginning of what's to come. What we do may seem simple to other people; it may seem insignificant. But you're in a car crash, you've lost somebody - you can't think past putting on your clothes on in the morning. What happens to your pets, your business, while you are dealing with that trauma? We help."

Over the years she stayed with us through the trial of the car's driver and helped us handle the extensive press coverage. It was Dolores who gave us the idea to dedicate the charity we started, The Caitlyn Craig Foundation, to improving teen driving safety in Colorado and elsewhere through the Alive At 25 program.

This goes on almost every day, somewhere in Colorado. There are six other victim's assistants across the state, and every time their pagers buzz, they step into someone's life at its lowest point and render assistance and comfort.

For this selfless work, the CSP Victim's Assistance Unit was awarded the 2006 National Award for Professional Innovation In Victim Services, which was presented by the United States Department of Justice at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. in April.

My family was honored to be able to show our appreciation by helping the entire unit and their families attend the ceremony. I heard that there was insufficient funding for travel and lodging for the entire team and mentioned this to my wife, Maria.

She is a frequent business traveler, and I suggested she use her contacts to get them rooms. She immediately began working the email and phones to her associates at Medlink Healthcare Networks, Incorporated (who had previously contributed to our charity), and soon had donations of Hyatt Hotel points. She combined those with hers and those of our family, then called Hyatt. Donna Knight worked with her for almost two weeks to ensure the entire team could stay in the same hotel, even arranging an extra couple of days for sightseeing in the nation's Capital.

When it turned out there were not quite enough points for all the rooms, other family members contributed cash to cover the shortfall. Meanwhile, people across the state who have worked with the unit made sure there were enough airline tickets.

Dolores still sees much work to be done. There are only two other states in the country with a similar program, and she wants to help export the program she created 16 years ago nationwide.

"I would love to do a pilot program, maybe one state patrol...South Dakota has shown interest "

She says they need to find a state "...that is conscious that traffic crashes are the number one killer (especially of teens) and that those involved are victims of a crime.
"We can give them the exact formula and show them how to get started," she continued, "They don't have to reinvent the wheel."

Though still in the planning stages, she hopes that positive media coverage will spark people's interest and encourage them to press for similar programs. As with any endeavor of this type, funding and political will are crucial. However, if she brings even half the energy and commitment to this venture as she does to caring for crime victims, there will eventually be angels like her across the country.

For more information:
CSP Victim's Assistance Unit - www.csp.state.co.us/victim.cfm
The Caitlyn Craig Foundation - www.theccf.net
Alive At 25 - www.alive-at-25.org

Sean McAfeeis an Evergreen resident.