Rep. Rush Holt announced that the U.S. Department of Justice awarded a $352,416grant to Lawrenceville-based organization Womanspace, Inc.
The Department of Justice award the federal funding under the Transitional Housing Assistance Grant for Victims of Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking Program. Womanspace plans to use the funding to provide housing and housing assistance in addition to supportive services to Mercer County victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence or stalking.
In May 2012, Holt visited Womanspace to meet with executive director Patricia Hart, survivors of domestic violence, and other women advocates to discuss the need to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. In 2013, Holt helped win passage of the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act, now law, which authorized the grant program that has awarded this funding to Womanspace Inc.
According to Hart, the three-year grant will allow the organization to provide short- and long-term housing to victims during their most vulnerable moments.
“One of the most urgent needs for families fleeing domestic violence is for housing. Without affordable, safe housing families are often forced to return to a dangerous environment,” Hart said in a statement.
The grant will also help Womanspace provide counseling, job training and children’s programs to help victims transition to their own home.
The primary focus of the Transitional Housing Assistance Program is to provide aid to victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking, particularly those who are homeless or in need of transitional housing and supportive services. Grants under the program are focused on supporting a holistic, victim-centered approach to provide transitional housing services that move individuals into permanent housing.
Since the passage of VAWA in 1994, the criminal justice response to violence against women has improved, fewer Americans are experiencing domestic violence, more victims are reporting domestic and sexual violence, and all states have made stalking a crime.
Womanspace provides a comprehensive array of services to individuals and families impacted by domestic and sexual violence and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for women and their families.
Victims of domestic violence or sexual assault in Mercer County are encouraged to call the 24 Hour Hotline at (609) 394-9000 or the New Jersey Statewide Domestic Violence 24 Hour Hotline at 1-800-572-SAFE (7233).
More information is online at womanspace.org.
