U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $1.8 million in federal Department of Justice (DOJ) funding for domestic abuse support programs in New York City. The funding was allocated through the DOJ’s Office on Violence Against Women and is authorized through the Legal Assistance for Victims Grant Program. Specifically, the Korean American Family Service Center will receive $300,000 in federal funding to provide free and comprehensive services that empower low-income Korean-American and Korean immigrant victims of domestic violence or sexual assault. Sanctuary for Families will receive $599,999 in federal funding to provide quality representation to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking in New York City. The Violence Intervention Program will receive $300,000 in federal funding to provide culturally specific resources and services that address the safety, economic, housing and workplace needs of victims and sexual assault, domestic violence or stalking. The Manhattan Legal Services will receive $600,000 to provide quality representation to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking in Manhattan.
“Domestic and dating violence is never acceptable and we must do all we can to both prevent it in the first place, and to take care of those who are victimized by it. Fortunately, there are organizations like the Korean American Family Service Center, Sanctuary for Families, Violence Intervention Program and the Manhattan Legal Services dedicated to providing resources to help stop these terrible attacks,” said Senator Schumer. “I will continue doing everything I can to ensure organizations like these have the resources they need to combat these horrible crimes.”
“This critical federal funding through the Department of Justice will help facilitate a wide range of programs to better assist domestic violence survivors,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Domestic violence is a serious problem and we need to work towards creating a safe environment for individuals and families. By increasing accessibility to services for survivors we can help provide the support and resources they need to be protected and put their lives back together.”
The Korean American Family Service Center, located in Queens, will use this funding to continue its “Chin-Jung Project” to strengthen and enhance comprehensive services to effectively empower women within the Korean community and emerging Korean-Chinese community. The organization will create Sundojah-designed culturally effective training scripts for specific contexts that work within the Korean cultural nuances. The organization will also produce advertisements and articles highlighting a Sundojah training program. Through the organization’s Rainbow House Shelter, clients will have access to housing, counseling and support groups. The focus of the Chin-Jung Community Project will be the extensive, vulnerable Korean population that resides in Queens and Manhattan.
Sanctuary for Families will use this funding to provide quality representation to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking in New York City. The organization will implement this grant in partnership with the New York Legal Assistance Group, the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault, 12 law schools, 37 law firms, 9 community-based organizations and the Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence. With this funding, Sanctuary for Families and its project partners will provide victim advocacy and comprehensive holistic legal services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and/or dating violence through direct representation in family law matters such as divorce, child custody and/or child support; immigration, administrative agency, campus proceedings and housing matters as well as other similar legal matters arising as a consequences of the abuse or violence. The organization will also implement and/or enhance project activities that protect victim safety, confidentiality and autonomy and increase offender accountability. The organization will accept referrals for legal and social services from 17 hospital-based rape crisis programs and recruit, training and supervise pro-bono attorneys. The organization will conduct client intake on-site at the Integrated Domestic Violence Courts in New York City and recruit and train law students to assist pro se victims filing for Orders of Protection. With this funding, Sanctuary for Families will also develop a new training curriculum on campus sexual assault for law students and conduct outreach to college staff and students to inform them of the legal and social services available for victims of sexual and domestic violence.
Violence Intervention Program, Inc. will use this funding to provide culturally specific resources and services that address the safety, economic, housing and workplace needs of victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence or stalking. The organization will provide a Life Skills Program to assist 48-60 Latina immigrant survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in navigating systems necessary to live independently in the U.S. each year over the two year contract.
Manhattan Legal Services will use this funding to provide quality representation to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking in Manhattan. The organization will implement this grant in partnership with the Domestic and Other Violence Emergencies Program at the New York Presbyterian Columbia University Hospital Center and the Mt. Sinai St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center Crime Victim Treatment Center. With this funding, the organization and its project partners will provide victim advocacy and comprehensive holistic legal services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and/or dating violence through direct representation in family law matters such as divorce, child custody and/or child support, immigration, administrative agency, campus proceedings and housing matters as well as other similar legal matters arising as a consequence of the abuse or violence. The organization will implement and/or enhance project activities that protect victim safety, confidentiality and autonomy and increase offender accountability. The funds will support two part-time victim advocates that will provide safety planning, referrals for emergency housing and other supportive services for victims of sexual and domestic violence. The organization will develop an outreach campaign for underserved communities in Harlem, Washington Heights and Inwood that will inform residents of the legal and social services available for victims of sexual assault and intimate partner violence. The organization will conduct legal workshops at local colleges and universities and rape crisis centers and support one supervising attorney and one staff attorney who will provide direct civil legal assistance to clients.
The goal of the grant programs through the Office on Violence Against Women is to create sustainable change within and between organizations that results in accessible, safe and effective services for individuals who are victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking and accountability for perpetrators of such crimes. The Legal Assistance for Victims Grant Program is designed to strengthen civil and criminal legal assistance programs for adult and youth victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking who are seeking relief in legal matters arising as a consequence of that abuse or violence.