This project, with a collaboration between latino community fund georgia and the lucky shoals community association, INC., proposes to overcome challenges attributed to the rise in hate crimes against…

This $400,000 Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance under the Community-Based Approaches to Advancing Justice program (CFDA 16.047) will support a collaboration between the Latino Community Fund Georgia and the Lucky Shoals Community Association, Inc. to pilot a comprehensive hate crimes prevention program in DeKalb and Gwinnett Counties, Georgia. The key products and services to be delivered include:

1. Providing education and confidential victim services, such as know-your-rights training, to Latino community members at risk of hate crimes.
2. Teaching restorative justice practices in local schools, which is a relatively novel approach in Georgia.
3. Piloting a conflict resolution mechanism for neighborhoods to resolve low-level, non-criminal disputes that could escalate into hate-fueled incidents.
4. Training local law enforcement on culturally competent practices for responding to and preventing hate crimes.

The award period runs from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2027, with the goal of developing community-informed models for preventing and addressing hate speech and incidents targeting Latino populations in the target counties.

This project, with a collaboration between latino community fund georgia and the lucky shoals community association, INC., proposes to overcome challenges attributed to the rise in hate crimes against latinos in georgia by piloting a hate crimes program in dekalb county and gwinnett county, georgia. Latino community fund georgia and lucky shoals community association, INC. Will create and convene a group of community partners, locally in dekalb and gwinnett counties, as well as select statewide, to work together to implement the proposed interventions. These groups will center around four strategies: providing education and confidential victims services provided privately by nonprofits including know your rights; teaching restorative justice practices in schools, a relatively novel in general in georgia; piloting a model conflict resolution mechanism for neighborhoods to resolve low-level, non-criminal disputes that can erupt into hate-fueled crimes; and training local law enforcement on culturally competent practices. These four strategies address different audiences for educating public, as well as latinos at risk for hate crimes, as well as for facilitating the ultimate identification and reporting of any such crimes.