KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - United States Attorney J. Douglas Overbey of the Eastern District of Tennessee announced today that YWCA Knoxville and the Tennessee Valley received $350,000 in Department of Justice grants to address and assist children and youth experiencing domestic and dating violence, sexual assault, and/or stalking.
This consolidated grant program supports projects that create education programming and community organization through encouragement of men and boys to work as allies with women and girls to prevent domestic violence and sexual assault within our communities. The grant is available and awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women.
"Raising awareness and promoting a culture of respect and nonviolence among children and youth at an early age are important steps in preventing future violent behavior. Violence prevention and awareness programs work toward providing our community the ability to access resources and services available to meet this challenge. As we continue to respond to the Coronavirus, and in the wake of economic insecurity, it is vital to increase access to services across all ages for the benefit of our community’s future. Our office is committed to fostering the development of safer societies for all our citizens," said U.S. Attorney Overbey.
The Consolidated Grant Program to address children and youth experiencing domestic violence and sexual assault collaborates with its partners, Knox County Circuit Courts; Knox County District Attorney’s Office; Knoxville Police Department; Knoxville Family Justice Center; and Knox County Sheriff’s Office and Legal Aid of East Tennessee. Through this supplemental award, the project will: 1) develop and implement programming to recruit and train men and boys to serve as role models and/or mentors to address and prevent domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and sex trafficking; 2) establish a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) to oversee and guide project activities; 3) complete a community needs assessment and develop a strategic plan that outlines the implementation phase of the project; 4) provide crisis intervention at all events to respond to disclosures of victimization and make appropriate referrals; and 5) cross train project staff, partner organizations/programs, and MDT members to expand their knowledge and skills to better understand each other’s role.
The Consolidated Grant Program provides opportunities for communities to create coordinated responses to increase collaboration among nonprofit victim service providers, community service organizations. This program focuses on schools, and local government agencies to enhance prevention, intervention, and response efforts in addressing children, youth and young adults impacted by sexual assault, domestic and dating violence, stalking and sex trafficking.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
