PROVIDENCE – Sojourner House announced Tuesday that the anti-violence agency received a $500,000 U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women grant to help fund the organization’s school-based prevention, intervention and response services for youths within Smithfield public schools and the Woonsocket Education Department.
Sojourner House was one of just 16 organizations across the country to receive funding from the federal program.
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The organization said the project, which is funded for 36 months, will increase awareness among youth about domestic violence, dating violence and sexual assault, and empower the youths with skills and knowledge to engage in prevention and intervention practices. Sojourner House also said the project will create and strengthen school environments that embrace prevention practices and be supportive to all student victims.
In a statement, Sojourner House Executive Director Vanessa Volz said,”We have grown as an agency over the past few years in direct response to what victims tell us they need. This OVW grant will provide us with the opportunity to focus some of our work specifically on children and youth.”
“It is critical that we work to develop programs for this population so that we can begin to truly break the cycles of abuse which often begin in childhood,” Volz added.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
