June 4 was Hospitals Against Violence (#HAVhope) National Day of Awareness
America’s hospitals and health systems combat violence in their workplaces and communities. OVC recognizes the important role hospitals can play in combating violence and providing critical services to crime victims, particularly in communities of color.
Visit the American Hospital Association website for information about this commemoration and to view a digital toolkit to help promote awareness.
We encourage eligible applicants to apply for the OVC FY 2021 Advancing Hospital-Based Victim Services solicitation. Through this solicitation, OVC is seeking applications for funding to improve linkages between the victim services field and hospitals and other medical facilities that increase support for victims of crime, improve outcomes, and reduce chances of future victimization.
- Step 1 Deadline in Grants.gov: 11:59 p.m. eastern time on Monday, June 28, 2021
- Step 2 Deadline in JustGrants: 11:59 p.m. eastern time on Monday, July 12, 2021
Learn more and apply for this funding opportunity.
Also visit our Communities of Color topic page to discover more resources to help your organization identify, reach, and serve victims from underserved communities.
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is June 15
In the United States, an estimated 5 million older adults are abused, neglected, or exploited each year. Victims of elder abuse and exploitation are robbed of their homes, life savings, their dignity, their independence, and sometimes even their lives. In the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day proclamation, President Biden stated "we recommit ourselves to protecting every senior’s right to live their golden years with dignity and respect."
OVC is working tirelessly to ensure that older victims of abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation are connected with trauma-informed services and resources that protect the safety and confidentiality of victims.
Through the Crime Victims Fund—financed by fines and penalties paid by convicted federal offenders, not from tax dollars—OVC is supporting:
- increased legal services for older victims of crime across the country, particularly in rural areas;
- enhanced multidisciplinary teams to better identify and respond to cases of elder abuse and financial exploitation;
- training, resources, and tools for state and local law enforcement partners to expand their capacity to effectively prevent and combat elder abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation;
- state and local elder abuse programs;
- evidence-based mental health interventions for older victims, who screen positive for depression, and telehealth services; and
- the development of critical resources that help stakeholders identify, reach, and better serve older victims of crime.
OVC also manages the U.S. Department of Justice National Elder Fraud Hotline (1–833–FRAUD–11). The hotline has experienced case managers standing by to provide victims of financial fraud aged 60 or older with personalized support by assessing their needs and identifying relevant next steps. You may incorporate digital artwork into your elder abuse awareness efforts to help raise awareness about this cause.
Access OVC’s Elder Fraud and Abuse website for publications, resources, and training and technical assistance and OVC’s list of events for World Elder Abuse Awareness Day activities around the country of interest to those serving, supporting, and working with victims in their community.
Visit the University of Southern California’s Center on Elder Mistreatment for tools and tips about raising awareness of elder abuse, such as outreach and social media guides, sample letters to the editor, downloadable fliers, and more.
See a comprehensive roundup of OVC’s elder abuse publications and resources, and even more from the Department of Justice’s Elder Justice Initiative.
June Is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Pride Month
President Biden proclaimed June as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Pride Month. In the White House proclamation, President Biden states “This Pride Month, we recognize the valuable contributions of LGBTQ+ individuals across America, and we reaffirm our commitment to standing in solidarity with LGBTQ+ Americans in their ongoing struggle against discrimination and injustice.”
Crime victim services are not always readily accessible to or designed for victims, including individuals who identify as LGBTQ+.
To help ensure that victim service providers have access to information to help them identify, reach, and serve all victims, OVC funded the creation of the National Resource Center for Reaching Victims. Visit the LGBTQ+ section of the Center’s Resource Library to discover best practices and contact the Center to learn about training and technical assistance opportunities.
The OVC Training and Technical Assistance Center also offers several resources, including Serving LGBTQ Survivors of Violence training by request provides the knowledge and skills needed to effectively support and work with LGBTQ-identified people, communities, and survivors. The training will help participants strengthen their knowledge of the obstacles LGBTQ people experience in seeking victim services and explore how best to overcome or alleviate these obstacles. Learn more and apply for this training.
OVC’s Responding to Transgender Victims of Sexual Assault e-publication offers practical tools to promote understanding and support of transgender victims who experience high rates of sexual violence. The guide contains a section titled, Transgender 101, which covers the basics of what it means to be transgender. If you need a general understanding of issues impacting the transgender community, this is an excellent place to build your cultural competency.
Apply for OVC Funding Opportunities to Enhance Services for Victims of Crime
OVC is seeking qualified applicants for multiple Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 discretionary grant funding opportunities. Funding is available for projects including, but not limited to, supporting victims of hate crime, improving hospital-based victim services, and developing a national center to address racism and culturally responsive victim services.
View our Current Funding Opportunities page to learn more and apply.
In FY 2021, applications will be submitted to the Department of Justice in a new two-step process.
In step 1, applicants will submit a SF-424 and a SF-LLL in Grants.gov. In Section F of the SF-424, include the name and contact information of the individual who will complete application materials in JustGrants.
In step 2, the individual who was identified in Section F will be notified to submit the full application including attachments in JustGrants. See the following resources for instructions on how to submit the full application: