Heitkamp Announces Federal Funding for Transitional Housing Program at CVIC in Grand Forks
WASHINGTON, D.C. – (RealEstateRama) — U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today announced $350,000 in federal funding for transitional housing programs at the Community Violence Intervention Center (CVIC) in Grand Forks.
These federal funds will be used by CVIC to provide scattered site residences for 15 domestic violence and sexual assault survivors and their families and to work with CVIC partners to provide a holistic, victim-centered, and multidisciplinary approach to traditional housing needs in the community.
“Organizations like CVIC in Grand Forks do tremendous work to support victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault,” said Heitkamp. “It’s critical that these organizations receive the federal support they need to help victims find a safe place to call home while increasing their chances of finding a permanent path to safety. When I talk to those folks who provide services and support to victims of domestic and sexual violence – the most critical issue they mention every time is the need for transitional housing and funding for that housing. Since my time as North Dakota’s Attorney General, I’ve been working to bring domestic violence out of the shadows, and these federal funds build on those efforts by providing victims with needed support.”
Heitkamp and Grand Forks Police Chief Mark Nelson toured CVIC in January 2015 to see firsthand the innovative and collaborative programs it’s implemented to support survivors, counsel abusers, and combat domestic violence in the region.
In the Senate, Heitkamp is building on work as North Dakota’s Attorney General in the 1990s to combat domestic violence and stop those who seek to harm adults and children. Among the first bills Heitkamp cosponsored and helped pass in the Senate was the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Heitkamp worked to include a key provision in VAWA to address the continuing crisis of violence against women in tribal communities by strengthening existing programs and providing tribal governments the force they need to prosecute non-Indian perpetrators who commit these crimes on tribal land. As North Dakota’s Attorney General, Heitkamp helped implement the initial VAWA after the initial bill became law in 1994. Since then, programs supported by VAWA have made drastic changes. According to the Justice Department, the annual incidences of domestic violence have fallen more than 60 percent since 1993.
