The grants for outreach and services to underserved populations (underserved program) was statutorily created in the violence against women reauthorization act of 2013 to develop and implement…

This Project Grant award, valued at $597,742, was provided by the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women under the Grants for Outreach and Services to Underserved Populations (CFDA 16.889) program. The grant aims to develop and implement outreach strategies and provide victim services targeted at 300 Muslim victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking in the Atlanta, Georgia area. Key project activities include:

1. Customizing and delivering population-specific training and resources for Muslim faith groups and traditional sexual assault victim service providers.
2. Conducting outreach and delivering small group educational sessions with Muslim faith groups and victim service providers.
3. Developing and posting online resources, including instructional handbooks and webinars, for use with Muslim faith groups and victim service providers.
4. Providing one-on-one guidance to 4 Muslim faith groups and 4 victim service providers on designing and implementing population-specific service strategies.

The project is a partnership between HEART, Noor Family Services, Raksha Inc., Dr. Alia Azmat, and Aisha Rahman, and aims to better coordinate a community response to sexual assault and domestic violence within Muslim communities in Atlanta.

The grants for outreach and services to underserved populations (underserved program) was statutorily created in the violence against women reauthorization act of 2013 to develop and implement outreach strategies targeted at adult or youth victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking in underserved populations, and to provide victim services to meet the needs of such populations. Grant funds may be used to: 1) work with federal, state, tribal, territorial, and local governments, agencies, and organizations to develop or enhance population specific victim services; 2) strengthen the capacity of underserved populations to provide population specific victim services; 3) strengthen the capacity of traditional victim service providers to provide population specific victim services; 4) strengthen the effectiveness of criminal and civil justice interventions by providing training for law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, and other court personnel on domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking in underserved populations; 5) work in cooperation with an underserved population to develop and implement outreach, education, prevention, and intervention strategies that highlight available resources and the specific issues faced by victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking from underserved populations; or (6) provide population-specific training for social and human services providers on domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking in underserved populations. The proposed project, heart outreach and services to muslim survivors project is a partnership between heart, noor family services, raksha INC., DR. Alia azmat, and aisha rahman. The proposed projects purpose is to develop and implement outreach strategies targeted at and provide services to, 300 muslim victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking in order to better coordinate a community response to sexual assault and domestic violence in muslim communities in atlanta, georgia. Specifically, the project activities will include: (1) customize and develop population-specific training and associated materials for muslim faith groups, including faith leaders, congregants, and student groups; (2) customize population-specific training and resources for use with traditional sexual assault victim service providers; (3) conduct outreach and establish an instructional schedule with muslim faith groups and traditional sexual assault victim service providers; (4) deliver small group educational instruction, including 3 webinar sessions and 6 on-site workshops with muslim faith groups and traditional sexual assault victim service providers; (5) develop and post online resources, including 2 instructional handbooks, and 3 archived webinars for use with muslim faith groups and traditional sexual assault victim service providers; (6) provide one-on-one guidance to 4 muslim faith groups and 4 traditional sexual assault victim service providers on designing and implementing population-specific service strategies, via email, phone, video chat, and on-site visits.