Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) announced today that the Department of Justice, through the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Office of Violence Against Women (OVW), and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), is awarding nearly $7 million in grant funding to assist law enforcement agencies, tribes, victims of domestic violence, and local and state government in Nevada in combating domestic and sexual violence. The grant awards will fall under the title “Project Veronica” to honor Veronica Caldwell, who in 2015 lost her life at the hands of her husband. He also shot and killed Veronica’s daughter Yvonne and her daughter’s boyfriend.
“I’m very glad to see these extensive grants go to government, law enforcement, service providers, and tribes working to reduce domestic violence, abuse, sexual assaults, and stalking and help victims of those terrible crimes. No one in Nevada ought to experience this kind of violence, and I want survivors to receive every support and resource necessary to heal and feel safe. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic has increased pressure on families during this time, making these funds all the more important as a lifeline for victims. I’ll continue to work in the Senate to end domestic violence and support victims in every way I can.”
BACKGROUND:
To help reduce domestic violence in Nevada, the Department of Justice is providing the following grant awards and targeted invitations to strengthen services and resources for victims, as well as to prosecute abusers for both violence and gun crimes:
- $1,704,832 to the Nevada Office of the Attorney General for the STOP (Services, Training, Officers, Prosecutors) Violence Against Women program to develop and strengthen law enforcement, prosecution, victim services, and court strategies to combat violent crimes against women, including community-based, culturally specific services, in cases involving domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking;
- $1,550,000 to the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges to help build the capacity of the criminal and civil justice systems within Nevada and elsewhere 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;
- $748,154 to the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office to enhance the Douglas County Special Victims Response Team’s ability to provide timely and thorough investigations of reported incidents of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking;
- $663,004 to the Yerington Paiute Tribe to support a violence prevention advocate and a victim services advocate who will provide legal advocacy and emergency services for victims of domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault.
- $600,000 to the Clark County District Attorney to help prosecute domestic violence-related gun crimes;
- $416,734 to the Nevada Office of the Attorney General’s Sexual Assault Services Program, which directs grant dollars to states and territories to assist them in supporting rape crisis centers and nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations that provide core services, direct intervention, and related assistance to victims of sexual assault;
- $325,212 to the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation to expand their Tribal Sexual Assault Services Program by increasing advocate staff hours and the availability of services for victims;
- $300,000 to enhance relationships between law enforcement and a community-based victim service provider;
- $277,500 to No to Abuse’s Nevada Outreach Training Organization to provide both housing and supportive services to move survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking who are homeless to permanent housing. Additional services may include job training, education attainment, and safety planning;
- $243,619 to the Nevada Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence to provide support to rape crisis centers, domestic violence shelters, and other domestic violence victim services programs.
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