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…

The LGBTQ Center of Durham, Inc. received a $600,000 Project Grant from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women under the Grants for Outreach and Services to Underserved Populations (CFDA# 16.889) program. The 3-year grant will fund efforts to enhance victim services for LGBTQIA+ survivors of sexual violence in the Central Piedmont region of North Carolina.

Key activities include: embedding LGBTQIA+-specific advocates in rural service providers; conducting outreach and engagement activities in LGBTQIA+ safe spaces to elevate awareness of sexual violence; ensuring stable housing for LGBTQIA+ survivors as a foundation for recovery; and supporting informal survivor advocate networks within the LGBTQIA+ community. The project aims to develop population-specific victim services, strengthen the capacity of service providers, and train criminal justice stakeholders to better serve LGBTQIA+ survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

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. Central piedmont outreach and services to lgbtq survivors of sexual assault with lgbtq center of durham, subgrantee orange county rape crisis center. The proposed project will cover the geographic region of north carolina known as the central piedmont region inclusive of durham, orange, chatham and wake counties. The target underserved populations for this project are lgbtqia+ survivors of sexual violence, with an emphasis on black and latino/E/X lgbtqia+ survivors based on the current expertise and focus areas of the applying organization and partners. The community to be served includes lgbtqia+ survivors of sexual violence living in urban, suburban, and rural communities across durham, orange, wake, alamance, and chatham counties. The proposed project seeks to enhance the capacity of local victims services providers by embedding an lgbtqia+ specific advocate in an agency serving rural communities of orange, chatham and durham counties; elevate the topic of sexual violence within the lgbtqia+ community through outreach and engagement activities in lgbtqia+ established safe spaces; ensure that lgbtqia + survivors have stable housing as a foundation for recovery; and to support the informal networks of survivors serving as supportive advocates within their own communities.