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

The U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women awarded a $600,000 Project Grant under the Grants for Outreach and Services to Underserved Populations (CFDA 16.889) program to the Los Angeles LGBT Center and its partner the LGBTQ Center of Long Beach. The grant will be used to enhance access and provide comprehensive support services for LGBTQI+ victims/survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in Los Angeles County and adjacent counties. Key project activities include: providing crisis intervention, legal services, therapeutic counseling, and emergency housing referrals; delivering immigration legal support; conducting outreach and engagement events; and developing and disseminating informational resources tailored to LGBTQI+ victims/survivors. The project focuses on underserved populations within the LGBTQI+ community, including transgender, non-binary, Black, Latinx, monolingual Spanish-speaking, and immigrant individuals. The grant project period is from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2027.

The grants for outreach and services to underserved populations (underserved program) was statutorily created in the violence against women reauthorization act of 2013 (vawa 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) strengthen the response of social and human services by providing population-specific training for service providers on domestic violence, dating violence sexual assault, or stalking in underserved populations. Eligible applicants are limited to: population specific organizations or victim service providers that are (1) deaf programs (2) lesbian, GAY, bisexual, and transgender (lgbt) organizations, (3) organizations serving underserved religious populations, (4) disability programs, or (5) organizations serving certain underserved racial and ethnic populations. LOS angeles lgbt center and partner the lgbtq center of long beach are partnering to work on the following project: enhancing access and comprehensive support for lgbtqi+ victims/survivors in LOS angeles county. The project will be implemented in LOS angeles county and adjacent counties. This initiative is designed to strengthening capacity and providing a comprehensive range of services including direct legal services, therapeutic counseling, crisis intervention, and emergency housing referrals to lgbtqi+ domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking (dvsas) victims/survivors, with a focus on improving access for transgender, non-binary, black, latinx, monolingual spanish-speaking, and immigrant populations. Primary activities includes comprehensive dvsas services: provision of crisis intervention, direct legal services, therapeutic counseling, and emergency housing referrals. Legal services provision: offer comprehensive legal assistance to dvsas victims/survivors. Immigration legal representation: provide immigration legal support to dvsas victims/survivors, part of the legal services clientele, over three years. Mental health services: deliver therapeutic services to new clients. Outreach engagement: organize three outreach events each quarter to educate and engage the community. Lgbtqi+ victim/survivor informational resources development: creating and disseminating lgbtqi+ victim/survivor services resource in the form of a new fact sheet, brochure, or client-facing material each quarter in response to identified needs. The project focuses on underserved populations within the lgbtqi+ community, including transgender, non-binary, black, latinx, monolingual spanish-speaking, and immigrant individuals. The project services LOS angeles county and neighboring counties such as kern, riverside, and SAN bernardino., through both in-person and virtual service modalities.