Under category 2 of the community-based approaches to prevent and address hate crimes movementforward, INC. (MFI), a modern, inclusive social change & non-profit organization working to protect,…

The Bureau of Justice Assistance, under the Community-Based Approaches to Advancing Justice program (CFDA 16.047), awarded a $1,000,000 Project Grant to Movementforward Inc., a modern, inclusive social change and non-profit organization. The funding will support the Preventing and Addressing Rural Hate Crime (PARHC) project, which aims to develop and disseminate materials, tools, and strategies for building capacity in local organizations and law enforcement to prevent hate crimes against new arrivals in rural communities across the United States. The 3-year initiative will commence with three pilot sites before scaling the strategies nationally. Key activities include designing awareness and preparedness programming, increasing victim reporting, and improving response capabilities, with a focus on overcoming challenges faced by rural law enforcement such as language barriers and unfamiliarity with demographic changes. The project will convene national and local stakeholder working groups and conduct research to evaluate its efficacy.

Under category 2 of the community-based approaches to prevent and address hate crimes movementforward, INC. (MFI), a modern, inclusive social change & non-profit organization working to protect, promote and advance the human and civil rights of all people, proposes developing and implementing the preventing and addressing rural hate crime (PARHC) project in rural areas (categorized as under 2,500 residents) across the united states. Specifically, under the PARHC project, MFI will design and disseminate materials, tools, and strategies for building capacity in local & community organizations and local law enforcement partners to implement approaches to prevent hate crimes against new arrivals. Programming will promote community awareness and preparedness, increase victim reporting and improve responses. The project will commence with three pilot sites before scaling its strategies nationally. This initiative will focus on rural communities, as law enforcement in these locales often struggles to support new arrivals who are at increased risk of hate crimes. Rural agencies can be thinly staffed, with few resources dedicated to community engagement, and many officers are themselves long-term residents and unfamiliar or even partially uncomfortable with demographic changes. Language barriers exist, as do cultural and religious expectations that officers are uncertain how to navigate, including attitudes toward authority, gender, and direct interaction. Faith-based organizations can facilitate improved interaction between officers and new arrivals in these areas. MFI will convene national and local working groups of stakeholders to plan and implement the PARHC project overall and in the three pilot sites. Printed materials and training based on the successful outcomes from the pilot sites will be used to replicate the project in rural communities throughout the united state. Research will be conducted at the start, on an ongoing basis, and conclusion of this initiative to identify efficacy.