The lgbtq+ community of greater oklahoma is under attack

The Diversity Center of Oklahoma, Inc. was awarded a $400,000 Project Grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) under the Community-Based Approaches to Advancing Justice (CFDA 16.047) federal grant program. The purpose of this 3-year grant, running from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2027, is to develop community-wide approaches to preventing and addressing hate crimes against the LGBTQ+ community and other minority populations in the Greater Oklahoma area. Key project activities and outcomes include: whole-community engagement with non-traditional partner organizations; new methods for reporting hate crimes and incidents; educational programming with groups like schools and youth organizations; enhancing relationships with other targeted communities; engaging the wider civic and business community; and establishing a standing task force and partnership with law enforcement. The grant aims to obtain better hate crime data, utilize national experts, and create sustainable approaches to hate crime prevention in the region.

This community, like other minority communities in the area and across the country, is suffering from a drastic rise in hate crimes and incidents, where its members have been targeted, attacked, bullied, and killed. The diversity center of oklahoma, INC. Understands that the only way to prevent and address hate crimes of any kind is to develop a whole-community based approach that encompasses traditional and non-traditional partner organizations and involves new and innovative outreach, engagement, and educational programs. The purpose of the community hate crime prevention program is to create new community-wide approaches to preventing and addressing hate crimes in its catchment area. Project activities and outcomes include whole-community engagement activities with non-traditional partner organizations; new and easy-to-use methods to report hate crimes and incidents; new educational programming with non-traditional partners, including, but not limited to, the education system, youth, and young adult groups; an enhanced relationship with other targeted communities; engagement with the wider civic and business community; and the development of a standing relationship with law enforcement. This project will seek to obtain and develop better hate crime and hate incident data, engage stakeholders in a cooperative and joint manner, utilize national training experts in the realm of hate crime prevention, and develop a standing task force of partners.