Enhancing Language and Other Access to Services for Victims of Crime in Six Rural Counties of Western North Carolina

The FY 19 Enhancing Language and Other Access to Services Program seeks to enrich language access services for crime victims to break down barriers that prevent many individuals from reporting crimes and accessing the services they need after crime victimization. Funding will support the provision of direct services, the development of language access plans, and will expand the capacity of community-based organizations to address the needs of victims of crime who are blind, visually impaired, limited English proficient (LEP), Deaf or hard-of hearing.

The Thirtieth Judicial District Domestic Violence-Sexual Assault Alliance, Inc. (The Alliance) will partner with the Office of the District Attorney and the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office to implement a project to increase direct victim support services through the court system for LEP victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. The project will serve rural Western North Carolina; a region including Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Graham, Swain, Clay, and Cherokee Counties. For this project, The Alliance will recruit, hire, and train a bilingual (Spanish/English) victim advocate to be placed at the Office of the District Attorney. In addition, the applicant agency will recruit and train a minimum of eight new certified court interpreters into the region to enhance court interpretation services for LEP victims.

CA/NCF