$300,000 grant awarded to University of Saint Francis to address violence against women

The University of Saint Francis - Fort Wayne was awarded a $300,000 grant from the Department of Justice's Office of Violence Against Women in September. A news release from the university explains that the grant will be used to establish Cougars H.O.P.E. (Healing, Outreach, Prevention and Education) to build upon relationships with local partners to reduce violence against women. The goal of Cougars H.O.P.E. will be to provide prevention education, bystander intervention training, and provide services for victims. 

By addressing dating violence, domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault, Cougars H.O.P.E. will work with partner organizations such as the New Haven Police Department, the Fort Wayne Police Department, the Fort Wayne Sexual Assault Treatment Center, and the Allen County Prosecutor's Office to increase services available to victims and bring intervention training programs to campus. Infrastructure will be established to respond to violence against women, headed by a dedicated program director.

University of Saint Francis President Rev. Dr. Eric Albert Zimmer talked about the grant in the news release, "I encouraged our Student Affairs division to investigate this grant opportunity because the health and safety of USF students is a top priority. We are extremely grateful for this grant. Cougars H.O.P.E. will help USF continue to maintain a safe environment, further educate our community on how to prevent these crimes and ensure compassionate assistance for victims if a crime occurs."

With the grant, the Department of Justice set out milestones for the project to be achieved within 36 months. The goals include creating a community response team, providing prevention education to students, ongoing training to faculty and staff, providing ongoing law enforcement training, and 24-hour access to confidential victim services.