Safe Shelter Collaborative: National Expansion

Through the OVC FY 2017 Vision 21: Advancing the Use of Technology to Assist Victims of Crime solicitation OVC seeks to support organizations which demonstrate innovative strategies to create, expand, or enhance use of technology initiatives on a national scale to improve response, services, and access for victims of crime. OVC seeks to address three areas, which may intersect depending on the applicant’s proposed activities and project strategy. These are: 1) Coalition building; 2) Development of new national apps or creation of other technology platforms designed to serve victims of crime, including updates and maintenance for the length of the award; and 3) Expanding or enhancing (including updates and maintenance) existing service and hotline digital, online, text platforms and apps that use technology to provide services, referrals, tools, and information to victims of crime.

TechSoup Global, through their Caravan Studios division, will implement a national expansion of their “Safe Shelter Collaborative” (SSC) which was developed in partnership with Polaris and shelter agencies and recently pilot tested. The SSC provides secure technology sheltering agencies can use to find appropriate shelter in their region more efficiently and can be used by agency staff to learn from members of the collaborative and experts in the field. Through this project, the SSC will expand access to this technology to up to 15 regions in the country, including the already active collaborative sites of New Jersey, Northern California, and Dallas/Fort Worth, and will support national-scope shelter requests. Additionally, the technology currently provides shelter support for victims of domestic violence and trafficking, and through this project will extend the services to at least two other types of crime. TechSoup Global has also previously developed the “SafeNight” mobile app feature through which sheltering agencies can access funding for hotel nights when traditional shelter is not available. This technology will be used in conjunction with SSC.

CA/NCF