The Family Support Center is the only grantee in the State of Washington and 1 of 44 in the nation. Grant will focus on increasing collaborative services to military survivors of domestic violence.
The Family Support Center of South Sound has been awarded a $449,913 grant over a three year period from the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Violence Against Women. The grants purpose is to encourage communities to create and enhance collaborative partnerships between criminal justice agencies, victim services providers, and community organizations which respond to sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking. “This program challenges the whole community to work together to identify barriers and develop solutions that enhance victim safety and hold offenders accountable,” said United States Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates in a press release from the Department of Justice announcing this year’s grant recipients.
“We are so honored to be the only agency in the State of Washington to receive this award and 1 of 44 selected in the nation. We are very excited about working together with our partners to make system improvements that will make it easier for survivors and their children to access services that will improve their safety, health, and well-being. We know that our collaborative, collective impact model is a national best practice and we are ready to be a leading example locally and nationally” said Schelli Slaughter Executive Director of the Family Support Center of South Sound.
The Family Support Center of South Sound, in collaboration with its government partners, the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office, Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, and the Thurston County Clerk’s Office, will use this new award to continue to develop the Thurston County Family Justice Center Program, a comprehensive, survivor centered support program that coordinates community based victim service providers and local government partners from multiple disciplines in a collaborative effort to increase victim’s access to the services that they need in one central location. A key priority of this grant is to strengthen the collaboration between civilian and military agencies as part of an improved coordinated community response to meet the growing needs of military personnel and their families in the south sound region who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. Funding will also provide mobile advocacy to underserved Spanish speaking survivors who live in rural areas of the community where economic and geographic barriers make safely accessing and navigating complex services difficult.
“This grant provides us with an amazing opportunity to work more closely together with our nonprofit and criminal justice partners to address the growing problem of domestic violence especially among military service members, veterans, and their families. I really believe that with these new resources we can increase safety for our entire community and improve our system wide response to make it easier for survivors and their kids get the help they need” said Thurston County Sheriff John Snaza.
The Family Support Center of South Sound and partners in the Family Justice Center Program collectively and collaboratively serve more than 700 adult and child survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking each year. Survivors needing help are encouraged to call 360-754-9297. Community based victim services offered by the Family Support Center of South Sound are 100% confidential.
