Tribes and urban Indians receive $21M for domestic violence


The Oklahoma City Indian Clinic is located at 5208 W Reno in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Photo from OKCIC

More than 100 tribes and urban Indian organizations have received nearly $21 million in domestic violence prevention grants.

The Administration for Children and Families awarded $13.5 million to tribes in over two dozen states. The money comes from the Family Violence Prevention & Services Program.

"Tribal domestic violence programs provide a lifeline to tens of thousands of Native women, children and men each year," Commissioner on Children, Youth, and Families Rafael López said in a press release. "For the past three decades, the FVPSA Program in the Family and Youth Services Bureau has been an integral part of our nation’s response to domestic violence by providing funding, oversight, training, and guidance to emergency shelters, crisis hotlines, prevention programs, specialized resource centers, and a wide range of federal partners across the United States."

The Indian Health Service awarded another $7.5 million to tribes, eight urban Indian organizations and units within the agency. The money comes from the Domestic Violence Prevention Initiative.

"These new awards dramatically expand our efforts to provide community based, culturally appropriate services for domestic and sexual violence," said IHS Principal Deputy Director Robert G. McSwain. "American Indian and Alaska Native communities have called on IHS for more support to prevent domestic and sexual violence. The IHS Domestic Violence Prevention Initiative funding represents a commitment to these critical health needs."

The Oklahoma City Indian Clinic was among the recipients of an IHS grant. The clinic will use $210,000 to assist urban Indians in central Oklahoma.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to continue the work we are doing in the area of domestic violence and sexual assault prevention,” CEO Robyn Sunday-Allen said. “Our primary goals, with this grant and beyond, are to increase knowledge, expand crisis intervention, provide trauma-informed services and improve organizational and community practices surrounding abuse, sexual assault and bullying.”

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