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's Office on Violence Against Women awarded the Eau Claire Area Hmong Mutual Assistance Association, Inc. (ECAHMAA) a $450,000 Project Grant under the Culturally and Linguistically Specific Services Program (CFDA 16.016). This 3-year grant will enable ECAHMAA to enhance its capacity to provide culturally relevant services and resources for Hmong victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in Wisconsin's Chippewa Valley region, including the LGBTQ+ Hmong community. Key planned activities include convening a Hmong Coordinated Community Response Team, developing and disseminating culturally-appropriate materials, conducting outreach and education, and organizing a statewide conference on culturally specific victim services. The grant aims to increase the community's ability to support Hmong victims and their families through victim-centered, trauma-informed approaches tailored to this specific cultural population.

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 continuation culturally specific services program project, the EAU claire area hmong mutual assistance association, INC. (ECAHMAA) will implement a project addressing the following purpose areas: increase communities' capacity to provide culturally specific resources and support for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking crimes and their families for hmong victims and survivors in wisconsins chippewa valley region and the broader hmong and mainstream chippewa valley communities. The project will also address the following priority area: priority area 3 - underserved communities (lgbtq communities). Specific activities will include: 1)convening survivors and DV/SA professionals to meet monthly to develop victim-centered solutions; 2) training participants in hmong cultural competency, gender-based violence, and coordinated community responses; 3) developing a hmong coordinated community response team (HCCRT) to coordinate multidisciplinary efforts; 4) developing/disseminating culturally-specific resources and materials; 5) outreach to the hmong community to strengthen awareness of violence against hmong lgbtq+; 6) outreach to the hmong lgbtq+ community to provide education, prevention, and support; and 7) organizing a statewide conference to host victim advocates, lgbtq+ organizations, law enforcement officers, victim witness specialists, prosecutors, social service organizations, culturally and linguistically specific organization staff, health professionals, mental health professionals, faith/spiritual-based organization staff, and educators.