FVPSA Funding Helps Survivors Overcome Culturally Specific Barriers to Services

October 23, 2024
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Office of Family Violence Prevention and Services (OFVPS) awarded Family Violence Prevention Services Act (FVPSA) funding to support 35 cooperative agreements to Culturally Specific Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (CDVSA) grants for culturally specific organizations and programs to provide trauma-informed, developmentally sensitive and culturally relevant services for children, individuals, and families affected by sexual assault and domestic violence from racial/ethnic specific populations, underserved communities, and historically marginalized communities across the nation.  

At Para Los Ninos in Los Angeles, the Family Services division is supported by nine different contracts funded by Department of Children and Family Services, Department of Mental Health, Department of Public Health, City of Los Angeles, and the Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Family Violence Prevention and Services. These programs vary from prevention with community outreach and events to intervention with home visitation programs, mental health therapy, case management services, and concrete supports.  We’re still gathering numbers for FY 23/24, but for FY 22/23, Family Services served 1341 clients.   

In the month of August, clients began to be enrolled in our Family and Community Empowerment to End Domestic Violence Program (F.A.C.E. DV) and they started to participate in our Domestic Violence Education Group. In September, we are rolling out a collaboration with Peace Over Violence to provide educational workshops on victims’ rights, safety planning and sexual violence awareness.   

“We are proud to announce that Para Los Niños, once again, participated in Denim Day 2024 to raise awareness about sexual violence, support survivors, and stand against harmful attitudes that perpetuate victim blaming. Through organizing and leading this important event, Para Los Niños continues to demonstrate its unwavering commitment to fostering a safe and supportive community for all. Together, we wear denim to show our solidarity with survivors and to advocate for a world free of sexual violence. We were fortunate to join clients and community members on this meaningful day to make a collective impact and recognize the importance of Denim Day.” -Jimmy Urizar, Director of Family Services  

On September 27th, we hosted our very first Family and Community Empowerment to End Domestic Violence Event, “I am not the abuse, I am…”  With this event we embark the visioning sessions with FACE DV clients to start the dialogue to empower community members to shape the future of domestic violence programs such as FACE DV. With the begging of the visioning sessions and in preparation of DV Awareness Month in October, we are hoping to get feedback from clients to plan DV awareness activities for the month of October. We are planning on hosting a self- defense workshop to by the end of October.    

The Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese (MAPS) Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (DVSA) program provides, on a yearly basis, direct outreach to 4000 individuals, and direct services to 500 clients, by providing comprehensive, culturally competent services that include counseling, legal advocacy, referral, housing/shelter advocacy, and client emergency assistance.   

At Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers (MAPS), this year in support of programming, our theme for Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) is Economic Empowerment! Helping survivors look for ways to create sustainable sources of income is part of the work advocates do to help survivors regain control of their lives.   

“As we mark Domestic Violence Awareness Month once again, we must remind ourselves and the people in our lives of the importance of being active bystanders, of checking in with our friends, our loved ones, our neighbors, and our coworkers. We must always be aware of the signs of an abusive relationship and violent tendencies and behaviors, teach our younger generations about those signs and how to react to them and engage them in these vital conversations despite how uncomfortable they may be”, said MAPS CEO, Paulo Pinto.  

This year we are having four events named "Bazaar With A Purpose" in Lowell, Dorchester, Everett and Framingham, on October 6, 18, 20, and 25 respectively. These events are aimed at showcasing survivors' entrepreneurial talents, ranging from arts and crafts, handmade jewelry and much more. The items showcased at the bazaars will be available for purchase, and we are inviting the community to support these aspiring entrepreneurs. Health insurance enrollment services will be available at each of these events.  

Besides the bazaars, we will be facilitating DV information/educational sessions at different faith-based communities on October 3rd, 5th, 17th, and 29th.   

Internally, we are engaging staff in each MAPS office to create a DVAM Vision Board which will be displayed at each office's entrance throughout the month of October. These vision boards will be shared with the broader community during MAPS Annual meeting at the end of October.  

As is the case, every year, the DVSA team also participates in several partners events throughout the month of October. Here is a list of partners/collaborators that we work with:  

Jane Doe Inc, AFAB (Haitian Women Association), CASA Myrna, Transition House, Alternative House, Rosie’s Place, HarborCov, Brazilian Women Group, Cabo Verdean Association Boston, Cabo Verdean Association Brockton, Cabo Verdean Women United, Brazilian-American Center (BRACE), Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARC), Center For Hope and Healing, Voices Against Violence ATASK, Jewish Vocational Services, De Novo Center for Justice and Healing, Northeast Legal Aid, MetroWest Legal Services, Woman’s Bar Association, Bowdoin Health Clinic, Newton Wellesley Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, Cambridge Health Alliance, Uphams Corner Health Center, Boston Medical Center, and more.  

KAN-WIN works to eradicate gender-based violence through comprehensive, survivor-centered services, education, and outreach to Asian American communities and beyond. KAN-WIN’s services are designed to empower immigrant survivors to tackle the unique and complex challenges they face and transition from crisis to long-term empowerment. Through intensive wrap around services, we strive to provide a one-stop shop for survivors to minimize the risk of chasing for help. KAN-WIN offers a 24-hour multilingual hotline, transitional housing, legal advocacy, case management, support groups, and children and youth programs. 

KAN-WIN in Illinois is hosting three Peer Advocate Leadership (PAL) training sessions during October, DVAM. We'll be holding them in Korean, Chinese and Mongolian. We recruit PAL participants in the immigrant community to gain tools to advocate for survivors and engage their peers in gender-based violence issues. Through this process, PAL participants not only deepen their knowledge of gender-based violence issues, but also help to grow the movements by communicating this information in a culturally and linguistically sensitive manner to cultivate allies. 

PAL is open for all community members. A few of our former clients have also successfully completed the program and have become incredible powerful allies for us. One of them has hosted lunch and learn at a local women's shelter about healthy relationship issues as well as organized a supplies drive for survivors at her work. We're thrilled to see survivor leadership grow through the PAL program. 

The United Indian Health Services (UIHS) is a non-profit healthcare organization that was established in 1970 to serve the health needs of the American Indians/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) in eight clinic sites a rural area of Northwestern California which encompasses the ancestral lands of Wiyot, Hupa, Tolowa, Karuk and Yurok tribes.

With violence and control becoming more pervasive in AI/AN communities following the colonization of the AI/AN people, the goals and objectives of their violence prevention work will include finding supportive measures within traditional AI/AN cultural strength that will support the understanding and acceptance that violence-free environments are intrinsic of AI/AN cultural strength. Their organization will help create, fortify, and enhance pathways for client care that provides support for AI/AN youth, children, adults and their families experiencing or being exposed to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and family violence in their local communities. 

The Da'-ye' Ghes-na' Family Wellness Project was able to assist in United Indian Health Services, Inc "Healing Together Summit" providing keynote speakers for this event, Danielle Vigil-Masten and Dr. Cutch Risling-Baldy. This event offered invaluable insights from experts and community advocates that also prioritized the promotion of wellness within our local Native communities. Danielle Vigil-Masten was able to provide an opening presentation for this event on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Traditional Ways of Healing Together. Dr. Cutcha Risling Baldy was able to provide a closing presentation for the summit on localizing and Indigenizing approaches to health and wellness interventions that integrate knowledge, approaches, methods, and values that engage with colonization and racism as a public health issue and build actions to address health impacts of colonization and racism. Interventions are focused on decolonizing methodologies that are based on building public health awareness. Virtually and in-person, we were able to have 168 people in attendance for these presentations.