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 a $475,000 Project Grant under the Culturally and Linguistically Specific Services Program (CFDA 16.016) to Lily Of The Valley Emmanuel Church Of Jesus Christ, a minority-owned non-profit organization in Lemoore, California. The grant will fund a 3-year project from October 2024 to September 2027 to provide culturally specific services for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in Kings County and Tulare County, California. Key services to be delivered include a multilingual hotline, transportation, emergency assistance, culturally relevant training, prevention programming, and referrals. The project aims to increase the community's capacity to provide culturally specific resources and support, as well as develop education and prevention strategies highlighting culturally specific issues and resources for Black/African American populations in the target counties.

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, lily of the valley emmanuel church of jesus christ will implement a project addressing the following purpose areas: purpose area 2- increasing communities capacity to provide culturally specific resources and support for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking crimes and their families; and purpose area 5 - working in cooperation with the community to develop education and prevention strategies highlighting culturally specific issues and resources regarding victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking for blacks/african americans in kings county and tulare county, california. The project will address priority area 2: strengthening efforts to prevent and end sexual assault. Specific activities will include: 1) a hotline with multi-lingual access; 2) transportation; 3) emergency assistance; 4) culturally relevant training; 4) prevention programming; and 5) referrals.