Serving the Underserved: Providing Victim Advocacy to Cold Case, Homeless, and Refugee Sexual Assault Victims

This grant award made to Seattle, City of which is funded under OVC FY 2020 Law Enforcement-Based Victim Specialist Program Purpose Area 3: Large Agency, which is designed to develop or enhance and sustain crime victim specialist programs within law enforcement agencies and better coordinate services to victims to more quickly and more effectively serve the victim assistance and compensation needs of all crime victims and inform them of their rights as crime victims. The grantee will empower crime victims and increase public safety by supporting victims in crisis, connecting them to resources through community partners, informing them of their rights and assisting them in participating in the criminal justice system. The focus of this project is specifically on the underserved victims of sexual assault in the city of Seattle, WA. Under this project, SPD will hire a third full-time victim advocate to enhance SPD's victim advocacy program by filling the current gap in services. The project will ensure every survivor is connected to the appropriate resources and support through community and government programs and will strengthen existing partnerships with community providers to ensure that more victims are connected to support services. The project will focus on critically underserved populations including persons living in Seattle's Homeless Encampments and the Somali immigrant community. CA/NCF