Arctic Village Establishment of Tribal Victim Services and Safe Home

OVC’s mission is to enhance the nation’s capacity to assist crime victims and provide leadership in changing policies and practices to promote justice and healing for all victims of crime. OVC achieves this mission, in part, by administering award programs supported by the federal Crime Victims Fund (CVF) to develop innovative training and technical assistance, and to provide direct services to improve the overall quality of victim assistance.

The overall goal of the Fiscal Year 2019 Tribal Victim Services Set-Aside Program is to provide support to tribal communities to improve services for victims of crime. Under the solicitation, OVC solicited applications for funding to support a comprehensive range of activities including needs assessment, strategic planning, program development and implementation, program expansion, and other activities needed to address the needs of a wide variety of crime victims in tribal communities.

Under Purpose Area 1: Establishment of a New Victim Service Program, the Arctic Village will build a victim services program that will include a 24 hour shelter for victims of crime and will serve victims of all kinds of crime both in their village and in surrounding villages, as needed. Funding will support: salary and related expenses for a 1.0 FTE Tribal Victim Services Project Coordinator, a 1.0 FTE Safe Home (Shelter) Coordinator, and two 1.0 FTE Safe Home (Shelter) attendants, all paid 100% from the grant. Funding will also support the purchase of two vehicles (an ATV side by side for the summer and a snowmobile for the winter months), furniture, supplies, utilities, and a lease for the new combined victim services building and safe house/shelter; costs associated with healing groups for victims (supplies and very small stipends for elders providing advice in shaping these groups); emergency/short term direct assistance for victims (emergency food, clothing, replacement documents, eyeglasses replacement, etc.), including travel expenses for services that require travel to Fairbanks and thus an overnight stay; and contracts for consultants to provide private counseling services and traditional healing exercises for victims.

(CA/NCF)