Working to End Violence Against Women with Disabilities
ARISE partnered with Vera House (a local agency that helps survivors of domestic and sexual violence) to secure a three year, $750,000 grant to end violence against women with disabilities and Deaf women. One of only fifteen grants awarded nationwide by the Federal Office on Violence Against Women, the funding supports Project Emerge– a comprehensive community prevention and response system designed to assist women with disabilities who have experienced domestic or sexual violence. As part of Project Emerge, ARISE and Vera House are developing and conducting a community needs assessment. The results of the assessment will provide the information needed to create a training curriculum for human service agencies that will better prepare them for identifying and assisting survivors and women at risk. The Accessibility Task Force formed by the partnership is a forum for sharing ideas to ensure the project fully considers the challenges and potential solutions for improving early intervention and service delivery. Through increased community collaboration, the partnership will work to change existing policies and improve accessibility – both physical/attitudinal accessibility and ease of access to services – for women with disabilities and Deaf women who are survivors of domestic or sexual violence.