FORT WAYNE, Ind. (ADAMS) – The Department of Justice’s Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) awarded a $300,000 grant to the University of Saint Francis to initiate a new program to address domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
USF released the following:
With the grant, USF will create Cougars H.O.P.E. (Healing, Outreach, Prevention and Education). The grant will be awarded over the course of three years.
“I encouraged our Student Affairs division to investigate this grant opportunity because the health and safety of USF students is a top priority,” said USF President Rev. Dr. Eric Albert Zimmer. “We are extremely grateful for this grant. Cougars H.O.P.E. will help USF continue to maintain a safe environment, further educate our community on how to prevent these crimes and ensure compassionate assistance for victims if a crime occurs.”
Cougars H.O.P.E. will work to strengthen current USF relationships with the Fort Wayne Sexual Assault Treatment Center, YWCA, Fort Wayne Police Department, New Haven Police Department, Allen County Sheriff’s Department and Allen County Prosecutor’s Office. The engagement with these entities will bolster the safety net available to victims and ensure integrated training and education for the entire campus.
Grant funds will be utilized to build a response infrastructure composed of campus and community resources, coordinated by a dedicated program director. The overarching goal of Cougars H.O.P.E. is to provide prevention/education, bystander intervention training and trauma-informed, comprehensive victim services for the campus community.
The Department of Justice’s letter announcing the awarding of the grant, stated the following: Through this initial award, the collaborative partnership will: 1) create a coordinated community response team to oversee all planning and implementation activities; 2) provide prevention programming, including bystander intervention to all students on domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking; 3) provide ongoing training to all law enforcement on how to effectively respond to these crimes; 4) provide access to 24-hour confidential victim services and advocacy; and 5) conduct ongoing training to all personnel in the campus disciplinary process. The timing for performance of this award is 36 months.
