The tribal sexual assault services program (TSASP), which is authorized by 34 U.S.C. 12511(E), is one of five grant programs funded within the sexual assault services program (SASP)

The U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women awarded a $610,000 Tribal Sexual Assault Services Program (CFDA 16.024) grant to Sexual Assault Services of Northwest New Mexico, Inc. (SASNWNM). This 3-year project grant will enable SASNWNM to expand its existing sexual assault services in McKinley County, New Mexico. Specifically, the funding will allow SASNWNM to hire a third victim advocate to increase access to 24/7 crisis intervention, advocacy, information, and referrals for Native American survivors of sexual assault of all ages in the community. The project aims to create, maintain, and expand sustainable sexual assault services, including victim advocacy, community outreach, and primary prevention programming in local schools and chapter houses.

SASP was created by the violence against women and department of justice reauthorization act of 2005 (vawa 2005) and is the first federal funding stream dedicated solely to the provision of direct intervention and related assistance for victims of sexual assault. Overall, the purpose of SASP is to provide intervention, advocacy, accompaniment (e.g., accompanying victims to court, medical facilities, police departments), support services, and related assistance for adult, youth, and child victims of sexual assault, non-offending family and household members of victims, and those collaterally affected by the sexual assault. TSASP supports projects to create, maintain, and expand sustainable sexual assault services provided by tribes, tribal organizations, and nonprofit tribal organizations within indian country and alaska native villages. With this funding, sexual assault services of northwest new mexico (SAS) will continue to provide services in mckinley county, NM as IT has for twenty years (since 2014). SAS provides victim advocacy, community outreach and primary prevention programs in mckinley county schools, and in the surrounding areas, including chapter houses. This project will expand existing programming that SAS offers by adding a third victim advocate in order to meet the need of survivors in the community, for a total of 3 victim advocates in the gallup SAS office. Through TSASP funding, SAS will do this by: 1. To increase access to services for native americans, of all ages, who have experienced sexual assault; 2. Provide 24/7 crisis intervention and advocacy to the community; 3. Provide information and referrals to increase awareness on services available to survivors and their families/support systems. This awardwill be a three-year project.