Ujima: Advancing Access for Culturally Specific Communities

Ujima Inc.: The National Center on Violence Against Women (Ujima) and its partner The National Organization of Sisters of Color Ending Sexual Assault (SCESA) seek support from the US DOJ, Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) to establish and implement the National Center for Culturally Responsive Victim Services.  As federally-funded Training and Technical Assistance providers, developed by and for culturally specific communities, Ujima and SCESA are uniquely qualified to address the specific needs of victims/survivors from marginalized and underserved communities of color and the organizations that serve them.

    Through the National Center, Ujima and SCESA will provide Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) to local, state, and national organizations serving victims/survivors of crime with a specific focus on culturally specific organizations serving victims/survivors of crime from marginalized and underserved communities of color, who are most at-risk.  The National Center’s overarching goals will be to: 1) promote racial equity in victim services and compensation by enhancing the organizational and programmatic capacity of victim service organizations run by and for historically underserved communities, including communities of color; 2) provide comprehensive training and technical assistance to advance services to victims of crime; and 3) build the capacity and infrastructure of organizations that provide victim services in underserved communities as all or part of their mission.

    Ujima and SCESA will meet these goals by implementing a comprehensive TTA project that will include (1) Listening Sessions conducted in the target communities (2) a National Needs Assessment and National Report designed to identify areas with limited to no culturally specific services and solicit feedback about barriers to financial and technical assistance resources for culturally specific organizations in these areas; (3) Regional Knowledge Institutes to increase the capacity of culturally specific organizations to successfully manage grant funds; (4) On-Site Visits to provide individual technical assistance (4) Quarterly Webinars and Web-Based Resources to increase culturally specific organizations awareness about local, state, and national grant funding opportunities; and (5) a National Conference to promote peer-to-peer networking, decrease isolation for culturally specific organizations, and enhance learning opportunities for organizations seeking to better respond to marginalized and underserved victims/survivors of crime from communities of color.