Press Releases

BOLTON, MISSISSIPPI – Today, United States Representative Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) announced The United States Department of Justice has awarded a grant through the Office on Violence Against Women in the amount of $80,380 to the Mississippi State Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

This grant program supports state coalition efforts to coordinate victim services within their state as well as collaborate with other federal, state, and local entities to respond to violence against women issues affecting their jurisdictions. Statewide sexual assault coalitions provide support to member rape crisis centers through funding, training and technical assistance, and public awareness. Statewide domestic violence coalitions provide comparable support to member battered women's shelters and victim service programs. In a small number of states and territories, these support services are provided through a single dual sexual assault and domestic violence coalition. In other states, state sexual assault and domestic violence coalitions exist as separate organizations.

State coalitions have played a critical role in advancing the goals of Violence Against Women Act, serving as a collective voice to end violence against women through collaboration with federal, state, and local organizations. Such activities include, but are not limited to: providing technical assistance to member agencies; expanding technological capacity for member agencies or the coalition itself; developing or enhancing appropriate standards of services for member programs; conducting statewide, regional and/or community-based meetings or workshops; bringing local programs together to identify gaps in services and to coordinate activities; increasing the representation of underserved populations in coordination activities; engaging in activities that promote coalition building at the local and/or state level; and coordinating federal, state and/or local law enforcement agencies to develop or enhance strategies to address identified problems.

For more information, contact Anna Crump, Executive Director, Mississippi State Coalition Against Domestic Violence at (601) 981-9196.