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Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month
February is here, and that means recognizing Teen Dating Violence Awareness & Prevention Month (TDVAM) 2021.
Each year, approximately 1.5 million high school students nationwide experience physical abuse from a dating partner. In addition, a survey of 500 teens and young adults, 57% percent waited six months or more before seeking any help while 40% hadn’t talked to anyone about abusive behavior in their relationship.
Throughout the month of February, NRCDV will be highlighting the work of organizations that center young people and youth-driven initiatives, with a specific focus on the voices and experiences of Black and Trans-identified youth facing homelessness and housing instability. We will honor the wisdom and leadership of youth in promoting community care, healing, and resilience through the #1Thing messaging campaign as well as celebrating loveisrespect’s theme for TDVAM 2021, Know Your Worth, by spotlighting prevention tools and projects that promote healthy relationships with self and others.
Look for more information about #TDVAM2021 events and resources coming to your inbox soon.
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Upcoming Events from NRCDV's Training Institute
Register now for the following trainings and events from NRCDV's Training Institute.
Not Neutral: The Impact of Mandatory Reporting on Domestic Violence Survivors
Featuring Dr. Carrie Lippy & Shannon Perez-Darby
February 9, 2021 3:00 pm ET/ 2:00pm CT/ 12:00pm PT
As increasing light is shed on the limitations of criminal legal responses to domestic violence, calls for community-based solutions that do not involve the criminal legal system are growing louder. Mandatory reporting laws pose a significant challenge in making this shift, however, by connecting many informal and formal domestic violence supports to criminal and legal institutions. In this TDVAM webinar, we will explore the impact of mandatory reporting on domestic violence survivors, highlighting unique impacts for LGBTQ young people. We will present findings from a 2016 survey that examined how mandatory reporting affects the help-seeking of domestic violence survivors. We will also identify practical strategies advocates can use to decrease negative consequences of reporting and increase survivor safety and self-determination.
**This event has sold out. Recording and support material will be made available after February 12, 2021. Check our YouTube page for this and other webinar recordings.**
Meaningful Partnerships to Support Youth at the Intersections of Homelessness and Gender-Based Violence
Featuring Ivonne Ortiz
February 23, 2021 2:00 pm ET/ 1:00pm CT/ 11:00am PT
Recognizing and understanding the intersections of youth homelessness/housing insecurity and gender-based violence is critical to creating meaningful services and effective intervention and prevention strategies. While there is a great need for coordinated relationship violence intervention and prevention efforts for runaway and homeless youth, RHY and DV/SA service providers often work in silos and are unfamiliar with each other’s work. This webinar will examine the scope and unique characteristics of relationship violence amongst RHY, and will explore the why and the how of building and sustaining effective community collaborations to best serve youth at the intersections.
Recent NRCDV Training Institute events:
Reducing Violent Behavior
Grounding Domestic Violence Programs in Survivor-Defined Success
Honoring Survivors’ Spiritual Needs
Meeting this Moment: Meaningful Engagement for Social Change
The NRCDV Training Institute ensures that all training efforts and educational resources are relevant, forward thinking, and innovative, and center the voices and lived experiences of diverse survivors in our work. Learn more about the Training Institute or inquire about NRCDV providing a training for your organization or event.
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TA Questions of the Month ❓
Read the recent technical assistance (TA) questions from NRCDV and guest writers from the Indiana Disability Justice, Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life, National Alliance for Safe Housing, and the National Immigrant Women’s Advocacy Project.
 December 2020: Why should advocates and preventionists incorporate Disability Justice into their work?
By Skylar Kantola, of Indiana Disability Justice & Founder of Faerie Bear Art; Jody Powers, Disability Justice and Violence Prevention Hub Coordinator with the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence; and Cierra Olivia Thomas Williams, Prevention Specialist with the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Co-Founder of Indiana Disability Justice
"Now that society has a better understanding of the damaging effects of isolation, we can no longer pretend that keeping people with disabilities from community is not that big of a deal."
 November 2020: How can mainstream advocates and domestic violence programs enhance services and supports to older African American survivors?
By Juanita Davis, Associate Director for the National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL)
"White supremacy doctrine and structural oppressions are omnipresent within social institutions in the United States and they are replicated within our social systems, including in the movement to end domestic violence."
 October 2020: What housing assistance is available to immigrant survivors during COVID-19?
By Karlo Ng, Director of Legal Initiatives, National Alliance for Safe Housing; Rafaela Rodrigues, Fellow, National Immigrant Women’s Advocacy Project; and Leslye E. Orloff, Director, National Immigrant Women’s Advocacy Project
"Affordable housing programs paid for by the federal government that do not have immigration restrictions include the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, Section 202 housing for the elderly, Section 811 housing for persons with disabilities, Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA), Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), and Indian Housing."
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Advancing Collective Liberation
 We invite you to join a community of change makers in exploring, growing and learning together!
Following the National Prevention Town Hall a peer-to-peer discussion group was developed to create space for ongoing courageous conversation and to foster meaningful relationships between individuals and communities across states, sectors, and social justice movements to support our collective efforts to integrate anti-racism work, intervention, and prevention into one mission. Join this growing group of individuals commitment to unpacking anti-Blackness and centering the experiences, voices, and leadership of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in our work to prevent intimate partner violence.
The Town Hall page on PreventIPV.org includes:
- Summary & Recommendations featuring highlights and calls to action from each session
- Q&A document capturing all questions posed by participants
- Session recordings and related materials
- Reflections and takeaways
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Meet the New NRCDV Staff
NRCDV is growing to serve you better. Welcome the newest members of #TeamNRCDV.
 Lamar Greene joined NRCDV as an Administrative Specialist. He provides direction on administrative operations, plans NRCDV’s national meetings and events, and directly supports the Board of Directors. Prior, Lamar completed an internship with the Center for Reproductive Rights and served as a Truman-Albirght Fellow with the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, helping to plan national meetings and events around pressing public health challenges.
Carrie Lippy joined NRCDV as co-director of the National LGBTQ Institute on IPV. She brings with her a wide range of  experience in the gender-based violence field, from facilitating support groups in Latinx and LGBTQ grassroots domestic violence agencies to conducting research in the Division of Violence Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As a community psychologist and researcher, they strive to use research to promote prevention, elevate the voices and strengths of communities, and foster social change.
 Leletha Marshall joined NRCDV's Transformation Team as Vice-President of Advancement and Organizational Sustainability leading the Fundraising and Operations Team in efforts to build the organizations visibility, impact and diversity the financial resources. Leletha also provides visionary and mission driven leadership to the Operations Team to continually strengthen the organizational structure of NRCDV. Leletha has worked with numerous nonprofits and social ventures across the United States and abroad. She has served in various positions and worked with organizations from every sector of the nonprofit marketplace including associations and membership organizations, major hospitals, juvenile justice foundations, congressional foundations, community based social services agencies and more. Leletha also has an extensive background in donor cultivation, solicitations, meeting and event planning, and grants management. Throughout her career, she has raised more than $27 million in new funding from foundations, corporations, individuals and the government. In 2011, Leletha was nominated as one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women by the Maryland Daily Record, which recognizes outstanding achievements of women through professional accomplishments, community leadership and mentoring. As a domestic violence survivor, Leletha brings her personal passion to her work and is dedicated to NRCDV’s commitment to center racial equity in efforts to end gender-based violence.
 Marci Taitt-Lamar joined NRCDV as co-director of the National LGBTQ Institute on IPV. Previously, she has served as a protection order advocate in DV court cases, facilitated an all-gender DV support group, and coordinated a national training and technical assistance program at an LGBTQ community based DV organization. Marci brings a wealth of experience working in grassroots LGBTQ organizations and movements and is committed to capacity building work that centers the liberation of QTPOC survivors.
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Reimagining Creativity
Many people believe they are not artistic or creative. However, everyone has a creative part of their brain. Engaging the creative side of your brain positively affects your mental health.
“The act of creation can reduce stress and anxiety and improve your mood,” says Girija Kaimal
Creativity isn’t only traditional “art.” It's what gives you joy. To figure out your mode of creative expression, here are some common creative outlets.
- Writing: a journal entry, a poem, or blog post
- Wardrobe planning, cosmetology, or makeup
- Decorating, interior design, or landscape design
- Singing: song-writing, song-arranging, karaoke, or even car radio jam sessions
- Sewing
- Daydreaming
- Sculpting: clay, PlayDough, or making bread, cookies, or pie designs
- Creating new recipes
- Wrapping presents
- Building with blocks or Legos
- Music & dance: dancing, making music, drama and acting, or dancing around the house while you clean
- Scrap booking, stamp collecting
- And there’s traditional painting and drawing, but you can also take time to color, finger paint, or doodle
 "Anything that engages your creative mind — the ability to make connections between unrelated things and imagine new ways to communicate — is good for you," says Girija Kaimal
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National LGBTQ Institute & NRCDV Form Strategic Partnership
Beginning in November 2020, the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (NRCDV) became the new home of the National LGBTQ Institute on IPV.
Over the last four years, the LGBTQ Institute, in partnership with the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, has supported the capacity of the domestic violence and LGBTQ fields to respond to the unique needs, strengths, and  contexts of LGBTQ survivors.
“This new, strategic partnership provides the LGBTQ community with additional resources and opportunities and allows us to better focus on research and practice,” said Marci Taitt-Lamar, Co-Director of the LGBTQ Institute, “while addressing the unique and multiple victimizations and structural oppressions faced by LGBTQ people.”
NRCDV and the LGBTQ Institute, in partnership with the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, will continue to address critical gaps in services and supports for LGBTQ survivors and join broader efforts to reshape the inequitable systems and institutions that contribute to violence in the lives of LGBTQ people.
“The LGBTQ Institute’s commitment to center the most marginalized queer and trans survivors aligns well with the mission and values of NRCDV. We look forward to what we will build together over the next year," added LGBTQ Institute Co-Director Carrie Lippy.
The LGBTQ Institute will be led by Marci Taitt-Lamar and Carrie Lippy. For questions regarding training or technical assistance, please contact Marci. For questions regarding LGBTQ research or policy, please contact Carrie.
For more information about the LGBTQ Institute and their work, visit lgbtqipv.org.
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Policy Corner
December 2020 Emergency COVID-19 Relief Bill and Federal Funding for Fiscal Year 2020-21
(portions of this policy update were provided by our partner, NNEDV)
The final 2020 bill included direct cash payments, modest increases to victim service funding, rental assistance and an eviction moratorium, tax credits for families, and nutrition aid. These funds and provisions will help survivors, and ease some of the suffering caused by the pandemic and the economic fall-out.
Financial Supports for Survivors and Families:
- $25 billion in rental assistance and $43 million in a new incremental voucher program for those experiencing homelessness or fleeing domestic violence/sexual violence (DV/SV) to help ensure survivors and their families remain in their homes or secure safe housing when fleeing abuse.
- Direct cash payments up to $600 per adult and child, including families with mixed immigration status.
- Continued unemployment insurance (UI) benefits and $300/week enhancement.
- $13 billion more in the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), which will help survivors facing food insecurity.
Funding for Victim Services:
- Increased funding for the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA), the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), and the DV/SV Bonus Continuum of Care homelessness grant program funds, which will allow programs to provide shelter, housing, sexual assault services and legal services.
- Additional time to spend CARES Act funds, which could give domestic violence programs flexibility to address ongoing needs and budget shortfalls until December 2021.
- Congress did not include stabilize the Victims of Crime Act fund (VOCA) which is derived from fines and fees in federal criminal cases -- funding shelter, housing, legal assistance, counseling and more, this bill cut VOCA by $600 million for fiscal year 2020-21.
Important Policy Changes:
- Native American Tribes and tribally-affiliated housing and victim services organizations will be eligible for Continuum of Care (CoC) funding through the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) process.
- FEMA announced they will no longer require states to submit requests every 30 days to reauthorize reimbursement for non-congregate shelter -- instead FEMA has authorized reimbursement through the duration of the COVID-19 emergency.
Ongoing Policy Advocacy Priorities
With the start of a new Administration, NRCDV is working closely with other gender-based violence advocates, as well as broader coalitions related to housing and economic justice. Key priorities include further protections around the  eviction crisis, reauthorizing key domestic violence legislation, and ensuring that the needs of black, indigenous and other people of color (BIPOC) communities are represented in subsequent stimulus packages.
Federal Eviction Moratorium
- At the end of January, the CDC issued a declaration stating that, “the evictions of tenants could be detrimental to public health control measures to slow the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.”
- As a result, the CDC extended the federal eviction moratorium through March 31, 2021.
- While offering a temporary respite, this moratorium does not go far enough and therefore NRCDV continues to advocate for stronger and extended protections.
Emergency Rental Assistance Program
- Federal funds approved at the end of 2020 should start flowing soon from the Treasury Department to States.
- Together with our partners in housing coalitions, NRCDV contributed to a comprehensive set of recommendations to encourage the most effective use of these critical funds.
- NRCDV’s Safe Housing Capacity-Building Resource Center and our Consortium partners can provide tools, training and technical assistance to domestic/sexual violence organizations who are designing and implementing trauma-informed rental assistance initiatives.
 FVPSA and VAWA Reauthorization
- The Biden Administration has signaled that they would like to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in the first 100 days -- the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence (NTFDSV) is working with House and Senate committees to propose draft legislation that is likely to move through quickly.
- The Domestic Violence Resource Network (DVRN) is also meeting to propose a draft of the Family Violence Prevention and Safety Act (FVPSA) that would reauthorize it and incorporate more funding -- the DVRN is also working with House and Senate committees and hopes to propose language that would expand FVPSA from its previous language.
Housing Related Resources
Special Series on Coordinated Entry
The Domestic Violence and Housing Technical Assistance Consortium (DVHTAC) reviews practices in the housing field, their impact on survivors of domestic and sexual violence, and the disparities experienced by marginalized communities. In particular, the DVHTAC has been concerned about the policies and methods by which local communities prioritize which individuals and families receive housing services. A frequently-used scoring tool known as the “VI-SPDAT” has been especially problematic – both in terms of survivors vulnerabilities as well as racial disparities.
The convergence and disparate impact of numerous public health crises (i.e., the novel coronavirus, systemic racism, domestic and sexual violence, poverty and homelessness) is deadly and necessitates bold moves toward increasing equity. Recent guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) encourages communities to review their prioritization policies and simplify processes to better address COVID realities and racial disparities.
 As a result, the DVHTAC is proposing a deliberate shift in policies and practices. Through a series of special papers, webinars, podcasts and other supports, we are encouraging local communities to reexamine their tools and processes through the lens of racial equity, impacts of gender-based violence, trauma-informed approaches and survivor-defined practices. Check-out our first paper released in this special series: Assessing for & Appropriately Responding to the Housing Needs of Domestic & Sexual Violence Survivors: A Decision Tree as an Alternative to a Scoresheet and subscribe to the DVHTAC listserv to ensure you hear about related webinars, podcasts and other papers being released in this series.
Evictions Resources
These unprecedented times have worsened an already troubling housing crisis, with a wave of evictions predicted to occur after the moratoria and CARES Act support expires. The DVHTAC has compiled a number of resources to help, including policy related materials, toolkits and racial equity resources.
Housing Videos
Check out Adapting Housing First for DV Survivors and Helping DV Survivors Achieve Safe & Stable Housing, two videos by Dr. Cris Sullivan, NRCDV’s research advisor for Safe Housing Partnerships. Dr. Sullivan covers Flexible funding, Rapid Rehousing, and the Housing First model.
Safe Housing COVID-19 Resources
Check out these great resources from DVHTAC and our allied partners:
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Intersections Between Domestic and Sexual Violence, Racism, and Homelessness
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The need for safe and affordable housing is one of the most vital and immediate concerns for survivors of violence and abuse. This video illustrates the intersections between domestic and sexual violence, racism, and homelessness.
Black people, Indigenous people, and other person(s) of color are overrepresented in homeless populations due to structural racism, historical oppressions, network impoverishment, and other racial disparities across systems. People who hold multiple identities experience compounded barriers that exacerbate homelessness and housing instability. To address racial inequity, we must acknowledge it, learn about it, talk about it and shift our approaches so we can “do” more about it together. |
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Looking for a Good Podcast?
Podcasts. Chances are you are a fan of this amazing media tool.  Whether you are a loyal or casual podcast listener, NRCDV Radio has been producing podcasts since 2017, and with more than 35 episodes, there is something that is certain to inform and inspire.
NRCDV Radio hosts two podcast shows:
- Stories of Transformation, featuring interviews with advocates and collaborative partners from the field, real life stories from survivors, and innovative practices in advocacy.
- Policy & Advocacy in Action, bringing stories of real advocacy and the impact it has on individuals, communities, and the policy arena.
You can listen to all our podcast through the NRCDV Radio page, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or YouTube.
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New Resources on VAWnet
The VAWnet library is always expanding! Some recent additions include:
🗓 VAWnet Events Calendar
Looking for opportunities for connection, learning, and engagement? The searchable VAWnet Events Calendar includes information about state, local, and national events related to gender-based violence, including virtual trainings, conferences, webinars, and more. Event submissions are welcome. You can also create an account to save and access your bookmarked materials anytime, anywhere. Check it out today!
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Subscribe to Our Other Newsletters
Don't miss out on the information and resources provided by our other newsletters. Subscribe today.
PreventIPV Newsletter
The quarterly PreventIPV newsletter highlights new additions to the PreventIPV website and features innovative prevention programs, events, publications, campaigns, funding opportunities, and other happenings of note in the prevention field.
Safe Housing Partnerships Newsletter
Quarterly updates on housing and homelessness specific news and information, including new resources that have been added to the Safe Housing Partnerships website.
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Support Our Work
Your contribution ensures that we can continue to provide resources, training, and guidance on the multi-faceted nature of domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence.
Donations support NRCDV’s mission to strengthen and transform efforts to end domestic violence and ensures that we maintain our position as a trusted national leader, renowned for innovation, multi-disciplinary approaches and a commitment to ensuring that policy, practice and research is grounded in and guided by the voices and experiences of domestic violence survivors and advocates.
You shop, NRCDV benefits.
Support NRCDV each time you shop on Amazon. AmazonSmile is operated by Amazon with the same products, prices, and shopping features as Amazon. The difference is that when you shop on AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products to NRCDV.
Go to AmazonSmile and sign in with your Amazon information or create new account. On your first visit be sure to enter National Resource Center on Domestic Violence as your charitable organization. Now you are ready to start shopping and supporting efforts to end domestic violence.
The National Resource Center on Domestic Violence is a 501(c)3 organization. Your donation is tax deductible to the full extent of governing law.
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