The California vs. Hate Resource Line and Network

The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) proposes to implement the Earning Community Trust Project as a part of the California vs. Hate Resource Line and Network (CA vs. Hate). California’s first statewide reporting and resource line for victims of hate incidents and crimes, the CA vs. Hate hotline collects reports of hate and helps people identify options for next steps and connect with trauma-informed services and culturally competent resources. To support the CA vs. Hate hotline, this grant will support the development of sustainable infrastructure for engagement between CRD and community-based organizations (CBOs) that have earned the trust of communities targeted for hate. This grant will help ensure that victims of hate are directed to local support services and, if they request, law enforcement through the hotline. Projected activities include the creation of a new CBO Specialist position that will strengthen hotline use and make CA vs. Hate more effective. The CBO Specialist will: (1) institutionalize regular input from CBOs to improve the services provided by the CA vs. Hate hotline and to hold CRD accountable to the needs of people targeted for hate through the hotline and related services; (2) improve service to CBOs that are serving individuals targeted for hate so those CBOs can help serve as a bridge between victims and the CA vs. Hate hotline; (3) collect hate incident and crime data directly from the CBOs to support the data collected through the hotline; (4) develop a regional network of CBOs, and facilitate regular meetings to improve services delivered through the hotline; and (5) enhance collaboration and communication between CBOs to strengthen cross-community solidarity and hotline services. CRD proposes to subgrant more than 30% of the grant funds to California Black Media (CBM), a culturally specific organization that will further advance these goals consistent with the federal, state, and local data that demonstrates that Black people are the most likely to be targeted for hate. CBM advances news and information from within and among California’s African American communities, and will create opportunities that increase awareness and involvement in decisions and policy discussions that produce economic, social, and political impacts on underserved people. CBM will expand CRD’s ability to connect the hotline and services with Black communities and with other communities targeted for hate, expand awareness of the CA vs. Hate hotline, and facilitate roundtables and briefings to improve and strengthen the hotline. CBM has a long track record of working with other communities targeted for hate, rejecting the division that prevents effective collaboration. Outcomes include the expanded the use of the CA vs. Hate hotline among underserved communities, an improvement in the culturally competent resources offered through the hotline, more accurate hate incident and crime data collection through the hotline, and building trust between communities targeted for hate and government agencies to enhance use of the hotline and related services.