Washington, DC – U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $499,961 in federal funding for the One Love Foundation. The funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office on Violence Against Women and will be used to help expand and strengthen community services to youth who have experienced sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, or sex trafficking in Yonkers. Specifically, the One Love Foundation will partner with Westchester Jewish Community Services to help educate youth aged 11-18 on domestic and dating violence prevention, create a peer mentorship program for young girls, and expand access to survivor services for youth. Additionally, funding will be used to help train law enforcement, family court personnel, district attorney’s office staff, and probation and parole staff in trauma-informed practices and on how to identify youth-impacted by teen dating violence.
“This federal funding will provide invaluable services to the youth of Westchester who have been victims of domestic violence and abuse, as well as boost prevention programs that can help stop these tragedies from happening in the first place. We must send an unequivocal message that domestic violence and violence against women will not be tolerated,” said Senator Schumer. “I am pleased that the Department of Justice has provided this funding to the One Love Foundation, and will continue fighting to ensure that victims of domestic violence have the services they need.”
“One of the most important ways we can fight sexual assault and dating violence in our communities is by educating young adults on prevention. This critical funding will help the One Love Foundation do just that, support youth throughout Yonkers who have experienced sexual assault and dating violence, and provide training for community leaders to recognize the signs of abuse,” said Senator Gillibrand. “We need to do everything we can to help survivors recover from these devastating experiences by supporting them as they seek assistance. I will always fight in the Senate for the resources that help protect survivors.”
“The One Love Foundation is honored to receive this funding from the Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women and we appreciate the support of our federal representatives and local leaders for this work. This support will enable us to partner with Westchester Jewish Community Services to provide community assistance for young people impacted by domestic and dating violence in the Yonkers community,” said Katie Hood, Chief Executive Officer, One Love Foundation. “Our educational programs have helped nearly 1 million young people across the country, and we are thrilled to go deeper in Yonkers to develop programs that focus on teen dating violence prevention, safety planning, and youth access to treatment care and victim services.”
This funding was allocated through the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Violence Against Women’s Consolidated Grant Program to Address Children and Youth Experiencing Domestic and Sexual Assault and Engage Men and Boys as Allies (CYEM). The CYEM Program supports projects that develop, expand, and strengthen prevention, intervention, and response strategies that target children, youth and young adults who are survivors of or exposed to sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, or sex trafficking, including support for the non-abusing parents, caretakers, and legal guardians. More information can be found here.