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

The Office on Violence Against Women awarded Seekhaven Family Crisis Center $699,877 on October 1, 2025, under the Rural Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Assistance Program (CFDA 16.589).

The award funds Seekhaven to implement and expand cooperative efforts among law enforcement, prosecutors, and victim service providers to investigate and prosecute domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in rural communities, while providing treatment, counseling, advocacy, legal assistance, and other victim services to adult and minor victims in rural areas. The organization is partnering with the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition and Child [organization name truncated in source].

The award obligates $699,877 across a three-year period of performance from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2028. Work is performed in Moab, Utah. Seekhaven Family Crisis Center is a tax-exempt nonprofit organization based in Moab that has been registered in SAM.gov since December 2004 to receive federal awards and is designated as a woman-owned business.

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, seekhaven family crisis and resource center, in partnership with the utah domestic violence coalition, children's justice center of grand county, moab regional hospital sexual assault nurse examiner program, grand county victim assistance unit, utah coalition against sexual assault, childrens justice center of SAN juan county, moab police department, SAN juan county sheriffs office, and SAN juan county government, will implement seekhaven OVW rural project: expanding victims services and prevention education in southeastern utah. This victim service project addresses the purpose areas: 1, 2, and 3 for grand, SAN juan, and emery counties in utah. Specific activities will include: 1) providing emergency shelter to sexual assault survivors in grand, SAN juan, and emery counties; 2) delivering trauma-informed, survivor-centered advocacy services to sexual assault survivors in southeastern utah; 3) expanding sexual assault prevention programming in grand, SAN juan, and emery counties; 4) providing trauma-informed advocacy and support services for DV victims in rural southeastern utah; and 5) increasing community partner collaboration to improve systemic response to sexual violence.