Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine helped open the annual Two Days in May Victim Assistance Conference in Columbus today.

There are a lot of numbers involved: 1,000 participants, 35 breakout sessions, it’s the 20th year for the conference.

But it all comes down to individuals, those affected by crime as victims, their family and friends, and those who work each day to comfort them. It also includes those who bring criminals to justice.

As one BCI special agent put it in a session on Unsolved Murders and Missing Persons: “Each homicide case takes a piece of your soul.”

The murder of her cousin in 2005 prompted Belinda Puchajda to start doing what she could to help law enforcement find who did it. Her efforts drew attention from others in similar circumstances. They reached out for her help in creating and posting fliers seeking information on the cases.

Then she started going to fairs, festivals, anywhere she could get the word out to a large group of people about the victims.

She continues to this day, seeking the answer to who killed her relative and letting people know about other unsolved homicides, through the Columbiana County Family of Homicide Victims that she and other volunteers founded.

Puchajda spoke for everyone at the conference when she said: “Don’t let the victims be forgotten.”

The conference continues through tomorrow. An Elder Abuse Research Symposium, in conjunction with the conference, is also set for Tuesday.