The rural domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking program (rural program) is authorized by 34 U.S.C. 12341

The Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women awarded Care Lodge Domestic Violence Shelter Inc. $396,807 under the Rural Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Assistance Program (CFDA 16.589) on October 1, 2025.

Care Lodge, a nonprofit based in Meridian, Mississippi, will establish collaborative efforts with law enforcement, prosecutors, and victim service providers to investigate and prosecute domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The organization will deliver counseling, advocacy, and legal assistance to adult and minor victims in rural communities, and will develop, expand, or implement sexual assault forensic medical examination or sexual assault nurse examiner programs. The award funds a three-year period of performance through September 30, 2028, with place of performance in Meridian, Mississippi.

The Rural Program supports initiatives that identify, assess, and appropriately respond to victims of interpersonal violence in rural communities; establish and expand victim services; increase the safety and well-being of women and children through direct intervention and crime prevention strategies; and develop or improve sexual assault forensic medical examination programs. Grantees must implement at least one of five core strategies, including cooperative law enforcement and prosecution efforts, victim services, community education and prevention, sexual assault program development, or programs addressing the needs of victims in remote rural and geographically isolated areas.

Rural program funds are used to support programs that: 1) identify, assess, and appropriately respond to child, youth, and adult victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking in rural communities; 2) establish and expand victim services in rural communities to child, youth, and adult victims; 3) increase the safety and well-being of women and children in rural communities, by (a) dealing directly and immediately with domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking; and (b) creating and implementing strategies to increase awareness and prevent these crimes; and 4) develop, expand, implement, and improve the quality of sexual assault forensic medical examination or sexual assault nurse examiner programs. Grantees must use at least one of the following strategies in implementing their projects: 1) implement, expand, and establish cooperative efforts and projects among law enforcement officers, prosecutors, victim service providers, and other related parties to investigate and prosecute incidents of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking; 2) provide treatment, counseling, advocacy, legal assistance, and other long-term and short-term victim and population specific services to adult and minor victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in rural communities; 3) work in cooperation with the community to develop education and prevention strategies directed toward such issues; 4) develop, enlarge, or strengthen programs addressing sexual assault; and 5) develop programs and strategies that focus on the specific needs of victims of who reside in remote rural and geographically isolated areas. Through this new OVW rural program project, care lodge domestic violence shelter, INC., in partnership with lauderdale county sheriffs office, neshoba county sheriffs office, and the mississippi band of choctaw indians tribal court services will implement the rural domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking program. This victim service project addresses the following purpose area: 1 for the communities of east central and the surrounding rural areas. Specific activities include:1) expanding the reach of trauma-informed advocacy across the nine-county rural region; 2) improving survivor access to courts, law enforcement, and support services; 3) enhancing survivor legal outcomes and court engagement; 4) strengthening law enforcement response through training and coordination; 5) promoting culturally specific, survivor-centered services for tribal community members; 6) providing emergency shelter, safety planning, counseling, legal advocacy, assistance, transportation, peer support, victim rights education, and case management; 7) providing court accompaniment, court-based advocacy, counseling, and crisis intervention; and 8) providing supportive counseling, law enforcement accompaniment, safety planning, and referrals to forensic services/sexual assault specific services. During the project, the recipient will develop the following product: outreach materials tailored to tribal audiences.