Department of Justice Awards $1 Million in Grants to San Diego County Organizations

Assistant U. S. Attorney Cindy Cipriani (619) 546-9608

NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – September 21, 2020

SAN DIEGO – U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer announced today that the U.S. Department of Justice has awarded more than $1 million in grants to organizations based in San Diego County that provide resources to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.

San Diego-based Alliance for Hope International, led by former San Diego City Attorney Casey Gwinn, received $675,000; Valley Center-based Strong Hearted Native Women’s Coalition received $353,615.

 “These are significant grants that will help these organizations provide important services to our community,” said U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer. “This funding supports our goal to put an end to violence against women. These strong partnerships with community organizations put us closer to that goal and bring us together for an important cause.”

The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) Training and Technical Assistance (TA) Initiative provides OVW grantees such as Alliance for Hope International with the expertise and support they need to develop and implement successful state, local, tribal, and campus projects; increase victim safety; and bolster offender accountability. Through cooperative agreements, OVW supports educational initiatives, conferences, peer-to-peer consultations, and targeted assistance, allowing current and potential grantees to learn from experts and one another about how to overcome obstacles and incorporate promising practices in their efforts to address violence against women. In addition, OVW is focused on building the capacity of the criminal and civil justice systems and victim services organizations to respond effectively to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking and to foster partnerships between organizations that have not traditionally worked together to address violence against women.

With this FY 2020 TA award, Alliance for HOPE International will continue to implement the Identifying, Investigating, and Prosecuting Strangulation Project. During the course of the project period, Alliance will continue to implement the Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention, maintain the project website with new and revised tools and resources for multidisciplinary professions, conduct stand-alone webinars, and provide on-going technical assistance on addressing strangulation in domestic violence and sexual assault cases.

The Tribal Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Coalitions Program (Tribal Coalitions Program) supports the development and operation of nonprofit, nongovernmental tribal domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions. The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 changed the program from a discretionary program to a mixed formula and discretionary program, with each recognized coalition receiving an equal amount of available funds and organizations that propose to incorporate and operate new tribal coalitions eligible to apply for discretionary funding. This program is funded through statutory set-asides from the STOP Violence Against Women Formula Program (34 U.S.C. § 10446(b)(4)) and the Improving Criminal Justice Responses to Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking Grant Program (34 U.S.C. § 10461(f)). The Tribal Coalitions Program also includes a statutory set-aside from the Sexual Assault Services Program (SASP), specifically for tribal sexual assault coalitions (34 U.S.C. § 12511(d)(3)(A)).

The Strong Hearted Native Women's Coalition (SHNWC) serves tribal reservations and communities located in the Counties of San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, and Riverside in California. Additionally, SHNWC also works with many of the non-native service providers within San Diego and Riverside Counties, including four shelter programs and three rape crisis centers, as well as with San Bernardino-Riverside Indian Health under the Kiicha, Safe Home project. With this award, SHNWC will provide technical assistance, training, and services to the community service area to enhance access to and awareness of services for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, and sex trafficking.