A news update from the National Latin@ Network
Table of Contents

Blog
Getting Back to the Basics: Prioritizing Inter-agency Collaborations

Written by: Jorge Vidal, Project Coordinator, Casa de Esperanza: National Latin@ Network

When I was asked to write this blog, I wasn't expecting we'd be entering yet another wave of xenophobic incidents as intense as we experienced after Sept 11, 2001. Human rights violations based on gender, sexual orientation, religious identity, ethnicity, and immigration status have seen an unfortunate increase in recent months. These violations are directly related to health care and safety, because they widen the gap of isolation and distrust for historically marginalized communities -what we call prevention challenges. This is why now, more than ever, advocates and providers are being called to return to the basics, to prioritize the dying art of relationship building to help ensure engagement and retention in our community.

Click here  to learn more about how to strengthen important collaborations

Please show your organization's support for federal funding that addresses domestic violence and sexual assault by signing on to the attached letter. The letter outlines the need for federal funding and urges Congress to provide strong investments in life-saving programs including, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) and the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA). This letter is for organizations at all levels but NOT individuals at this time. Please add your organization's name by completing this form by Tuesday, April 18, 2017 at 5:00pm EST.   Please do NOT reply to this email.
*Note: this letter is for ORGANIZATIONS, not individuals. We will follow up with actions for individuals later in the spring. 
 
Last year, the letter included over 800 organizational sign-ons, which demonstrated the powerful support for these programs.
 
Sign a letter calling on Congress to increase funding for VAWA and related programs!  
April 4, 2017
Please forward widely!
Take action to secure funding for lifesaving programs
 
Tell Congress that your organization and hundreds more around the country care about funding for programs that serve victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.  Add your organization's name to the attached letter, which will be sent to Congress with the clear message: "We can't turn away victims in their time of need." You can also find an electronic copy of the letter here .
 
If you have any problems signing on,   please email your organization information (including the name of your organization, your name, email, and your organization state) to mdurrani@nnedv.org with FY18 Appropriations Sign On letter in the subject line.  Please see the  list of organizations that signed the letter last year.
 
Additional Action:
 
1.        We have bipartisan allies on our side, at least for now.  Please read the letter, thank them and quote them where it helps.
 
2.     We know that there have been threats to make deep across the board cuts in almost every federal agency so we must be extra valiant in defending funds for the life-saving efforts of nationwide programs and services that address sexual and domestic violence.  Here's a model phone script or talking point if you have a chance to bring up VAW at upcoming town hall meetings when your members are home in the next few weeks.       
 
Recent modest increases in Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA), along with sustained funding released from the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) should begin to address a portion of the gap in direct services. Any cuts to these programs would erode our progress and make victims less safe. The investment in these programs must fulfill the promise of VAWA and related federal laws by meeting the demand for services. 

Additional news:  
Blog Talk Radio: A Personal Journey Revealed

April 17, 2017
12pm - 12:30pm Central Time

Survivors are often encouraged to talk about their experience as a way of healing and by way of helping others. But doing so can be vulnerable. Olga Trujillo has been talking about her experience of violence and trauma for the past 20 years. She's shared about her experience of growing up in a home where her father perpetrated physical and sexual violence against her and her mother to the revelations that she was diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder. In this Blog Talk Radio, Jose Juan Lara explores with Olga what was behind her decision of revealing these aspects of her life, how and why she continues to share her experiences.
 
Listen Live!
April 18, 2017
2:30pm - 4pm (Central)

Are you tasked with managing the social media accounts for your organization? Do you feel overwhelmed by the daunting task of cutting through the noise to reach your audience? Although having a personal Facebook account to keep connections with friends and family is easy to maintain, marketing for a nonprofit through social media is a much different arena. This webinar will help you understand how to use social media to meet your end goal and increase engagement. 

In this webinar, participants will learn:
* How to use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn to benefit your agency. 
* How to develop a meaningful social media strategy.
* How to shape your message so that it appeals to a wide audience and enhances engagement. 
* How to interpret social media insights to continually improve your strategy.

Presenter: Rebecca De León, Communications and Marketing Coordinator, Casa de Esperanza: National Latin@ Network

Click here to register for this webinar.
The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), a coalition of the nation's preeminent Latino advocacy organizations, today announced six new members of its coalition that span the environmental, civic engagement, cultural, labor, and mental health sectors. This surge in NHLA's membership follows one of the most anti-Latino election cycles in over half a century. The new members are GreenLatinos, Mi Familia Vota, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures, the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, and the National Latina/o Psychological Association. With these new members, NHLA is now comprised of 46 national organizations and is the strongest that it has ever been.

Click here to read the entire press release.
S
exual Assault Awareness Month resources
 
Latinas en Accion 2017 Conference
 
Sunday, April 23, 2017 
9:30am - 2pm EST
Stony Brook, New York

SEPA Mujer and our Islandia Chapter leaders are delighted to announce that  we will be hosted by Stony Brook University at the SAC (Student Activities Center) to carry out our Fourth Annual Conference, "Latinas in Action," centered around Human Trafficking and Immigration issues on Suffolk Long Island. We will be discussing various layers of issues and the different forms of Human trafficking that impact the Latina Immigrant woman in: workplace rights and harassment, obstacles of immigrant women face when accessing health services, local policy, legal services and resources for victims of human trafficking; documented or undocumented and lastly the different faces of human trafficking on Long Island including other topics that affect women's rights.

Conference will be conducted in Spanish; English Interpretation available.

Click here for more information
Advocate and Legal Service Survey Regarding Immigrant Survivors

Together NNEDV, Casa de Esperanza, API-GBV, Tahirih Justice Center, National Alliance to End Sexual Violence and the National Domestic Violence Hotline have developed a survey for advocates and attorneys to better understand the impact of recent changes in immigration policy on survivors. 

We hope to be able to use the data to inform our policy work and media responses. Please forward the survey far and wide. The survey will close on Tuesday, April 25th. 
 
The survey is designed for service providers. Those state coalitions that provide direct services, such as legal services, are encouraged to complete the survey. In addition to the survey, if you have a statewide perspective, including data, please send it to advocacy@nnedv.org.

Click here to access the survey.
Click here for all network news and resources
 
A Webinar to Raise Awareness, Share Resources, and Highlight Best Practices

Monday, April 24, 2017
11:30am ET | 10:30am CT | 9:30am MT | 8:30am PT
(90 minutes)

People with disabilities experience sexual violence at rates more than three times higher than people without disabilities (BJS, 2016)[1], yet national conversations around sexual assault often fail to meaningfully include survivors with disabilities. In recognition of National Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services's Administration for Community Living (ACL), are pleased to co-host a webinar for domestic and sexual violence service providers and community-based programs serving persons with disabilities, to: raise awareness of the prevalence of sexual violence among the populations we serve; highlight strong examples from the field; and share resources for further engagement and training to better support survivors with disabilities who have experienced sexual assault.

Click here to register for this webinar.
 
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
2pm - 4pm (EST)

Please join ASISTA Executive Director Gail Pendleton and Senior Policy Counsel Cecelia Friedman Levin for an interactive webinar on Avoiding Detention and Removal for VAWA and U Survivors. In this webinar, we will discuss best practices in protecting clients who are at risk of immigration enforcement actions, including enhanced safety planning, requests for staysand prosecutorial discretion, and advocacy strategies for working with ICE and CBP.

Who can participate in this webinar? ASISTA is offering this webinar FREE for members of ASISTA or the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild (NIPNLG).  

This webinar is not funded by OVW, so OVW grantees may not participate unless they receive approval from their grant managers to use their own training funds to attend.  

All others (not OVW grantees) may join ASISTA or pay for the webinar individually. Please CLICK HERE for membership and webinar payment information.

Webinar Cost to non-ASISTA/NIPNLG members:
Individual   $50
Agency      $75 (more than one participant)

Click here to register for the webinar
Click here to learn how to become a member of ASISTA
 
Deadline: May 11, 2017
Posted: MARCH 23, 2017


Although many systems exist to respond to child and youth victimization issues, these systems often fail to communicate and collaborate effectively to get to the root of the problem.

The competitively awarded state-level demonstration sites will bring all of the relevant systems and professionals together to establish a coordinated approach. This approach will ensure that every child entering these systems is assessed for victimization, that children and their families are provided comprehensive and coordinated services to fully address their needs, and that practices and policies are established to sustain this approach long term.

The project will be conducted in two phases-Ph ase 1: Planning (15 months) and Phase 2: Implementation (5 years).

OVC expects to make up to two awards of up to $500,000 each through this demonstration initiative.

Apply by May 11, 2017
American Constitution Society: Assistant Director of Communications

The American Constitution Society (ACS) is seeking a full-time Associate Director of Communications to support the work of its Department of Communications, particularly by leading its efforts to engage members of our more than 200 Lawyer and Student Chapters on communications strategies. The Associate Director will be involved in a wide range of work that supports and promotes ACS's growing network of lawyers, law students, scholars and policymakers.
 
The ideal candidate will have a proven ability to get results in a fast-paced environment and be able to handle a diverse and challenging workload.

District Alliance for Safe Housing: Executive Director

The Executive Director provides leadership and direction for DASH and its local programs. The Executive Director will work in conjunction with the CEO to create and achieve the strategic vision of the organization, guiding the organization and programs to achieve its mission, and ensure the ongoing excellence of DASH's programs and model. The Executive Director is responsible for overseeing the organization's finances and operations to ensure its overall sustainability and successful outcomes.  The Executive Director will be a strong and collaborative leader with a proven track record in program management, staff supervision, budgeting and financial management, and fundraising.
 
Report to:   Board of Directors
 
Click here for more information about this position
Now accepting submissions

We welcome submissions on a number of topics pertaining to domestic violence, family violence, and gender-based violence. These topics include, but are not limited to:
  • Gender-based violence intervention and prevention programs that are culturally specific
  • Working with Latin@ youth
  • Working with immigrant Latin@s
  • Health care and gender-based violence
  • LGBTQ Latin@ communities
  • Children and domestic violence
  • Building Latin@ leadership in Latin@ communities
  • Elder abuse
We also welcome photography, video, resources, and other digital material that organizations or people wish to share with our network.

If you're interested in submitting a blog post,  click here to email Rebecca De Leon, Communications and Marketing Coordinator

ABOUT THE NATIONAL LATIN@ NETWORK FOR HEALTHY FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES

The National Latin@ Network for Healthy Families and Communities is a network of individuals and organizations committed to improving the health and well-being of Latin@ communities. The National Latin@ Network is led by Casa de Esperanza, a national Latina organization whose mission is to mobilize Latinas and Latin@ communities to end domestic violence. The National Latin@Network for Healthy Families and Communities builds on Casa de Esperanza´s experience working in local communities to support families, end domestic violence, and increase meaningful access to services for Latina@s and incorporates a research center, public policy initiative, and training.

National Latin@ Network | http://www.nationallatinonetwork.org | 651.646.5553


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