The grants to enhance culturally specific services for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking program is authorized by 34 U.S.C. 20124

The U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women awarded a $450,000 Project Grant to Native Community Development, Inc. under the Culturally and Linguistically Specific Services Program (CFDA 16.016). The funding supports implementing strategies to enhance culturally specific services, increase community capacity for culturally relevant resources and support, and enhance traditional services for Native American and other underserved victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in the Bismarck, North Dakota area. Key services include crisis response, coordination and advocacy, and traditional healing practices such as sweat lodges and talking circles. As a sub-grantee, Native Community Development, Inc. also received Emergency Solutions Grant CARES Act funding from the North Dakota Department of Commerce for street outreach, rapid re-housing, and administrative costs related to housing and homelessness services.

This program supports the maintenance and replication of existing successful community-based programs providing culturally specific services to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, as well as the development of innovative culturally specific strategies to enhance access to services and resources for victims who face obstacles to using more traditional programs. Culturally specific services means community-based services that include culturally relevant and linguistically specific services and resources to culturally specific communities which are statutorily defined as american indians (including alaska natives, eskimos, and aleuts); asian americans; native hawaiians and other pacific islanders; blacks; and hispanics. Projects must address at least one of the programs statutory purpose areas. Through this new culturally specific services program project, native community development, INC., in partnership with first nations womens alliance, will implement a project addressing the following purpose areas: work with state and local governments and social service agencies to develop and enhance effective strategies to provide culturally specific services to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking; increase communities capacity to provide culturally specific resources and support for victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking crimes and their families; and enhance traditional services to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking through the leadership of culturally specific programs offering services to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking for native americans and other underserved victims of domestic violence in north dakota in bismarck metropolitan area. The project will also address the following priority area: priority area 1- advancing racial equity. Native american domestic violence victims will be able to access culturally specific services which include crisis response, coordination & advocacy, and traditional healing services such as sweat lodges and talking circles.