Your monthly Underserved Grant Resource Email

September 2019
This product of the ALSO Underserved TA Project is designed for Underserved grantees to provide them with regular and concise information including resources, training opportunities, open solicitations and more.

You can always find more resources on the Underserved TA Tools and Resources page on ALSO's website or through the Online Private Portal for OVW Underserved Grantees.

Happy Resource & Opportunity Finding!
Your Underserved TA Team
ALSO Announcements
Password-Protected Session Materials

Session materials from previous Underserved Institutes and Grantee Orientations are now password-protected on the ALSO website. Session materials can be found on the corresponding event page . The password for each session materials page is: also!U

This information and the links to each session material page have been compiled in the Underserved Grantee Private Portal. For instructions on how to access the portal, please refer to this document .
Grantee Resources Sharing

In the spirit of peer to peer learning, we would like to invite Underserved grantees to share Underserved grant-funded resources with fellow grantees in the Program. 

If there are any particularly helpful or exciting resources that your organization has developed with these funds and is open to sharing these with other grantees, the ALSO TA Team is collecting them now. Some examples of resources are online outreach videos and brochures, tools for volunteers and staff, and support group materials. 

If you have materials to share, please send to  underservedtaproject@also-chicago.org   with subject line "Peer to Peer Sharing"
Grantee Spotlight
IGNITE attended the 20th Annual Legislative Breakfast on April 5, 2019 hosted by the Monroe County Domestic Violence Consortium. (Left: Susan Demers-McLetchie, Executive Director. Right: Brittany Ellenbecker, Director of Community Outreach and Education.)
Image Description: Two people standing on both sides of a poster titled "Silent Witness." IGNITE attended the 20th Annual Legislative Breakfast on April 5, 2019 hosted by the Monroe County Domestic Violence Consortium. (Left: Susan Demers-McLetchie, Executive Director. Right: Brittany Ellenbecker, Director of Community Outreach and Education.)
IGNITE , founded in 1998, is a small non-profit organization located in Rochester, NY and currently consists of four Deaf staff members.

IGNITE’s mission is to end domestic and sexual violence in the Deaf community through advocacy, education, and services. Our vision is to inspire and transform communities to be accountable by creating a culture free of violence.

We support the needs of Deaf, DeafBlind and hard of hearing survivors of domestic violence and sexual violence. We also support other members of the Deaf community including Children of Deaf Adults (CODAs) and American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters.

As part of the Underserved grant, we have been advocating and providing comprehensive services to our survivors. Additionally, we are in process of completing ten educational sexual assault videos in ASL geared to the Deaf community. We have provided Art and Yoga Circle for survivors, as well as educational presentations to various Deaf schools and community organizations throughout Monroe County.

As part of educating the Deaf community, IGNITE has hosted several special events including bringing in Jennifer Nadler , a hearing survivor of sexual assault, who shared her truth with the Deaf Community. Jennifer’s ASL interpreted presentation was titled “No More Sorrow, No More Silence.” Jennifer’s powerful presentation made an impact on the Deaf individuals who attended our event. 
Brittany Ellenbecker, Director of Community Education and Outreach led panel discussions after SWANS performance in August.
Image Description: A stage with people sitting on chairs and on a couch talking in front of an audience. Brittany Ellenbecker, Director of Community Education and Outreach led panel discussions after SWANS performance in August. The four individuals seated on the right side on the sofa were cast members, from left to right: Cat Cassidy (Shirley), Will Hayes (Dan), Marissa Woodruff (Laura), Kendall Charles (Paul). Susan Demers-McLetchie Executive Director, far left, Maggie, a staff member from RESTORE, IGNITE's grant partner, seated in the middle. Maria Brandt, SWANS playwright, on the right. PC: Kaytlyn Johnson.
Moreover, we proudly hosted SWANS, a powerful play, adapted in ASL, written by Maria Brandt, a local hearing playwright . Fortunately, the script allowed us to incorporate Deaf culture into the play. We had an all-Deaf cast who took on themes of rape culture and toxic masculinity in the storyline. SWANS is about a woman caught between an abusive husband and her thirteen-year-old son. We had four full-house shows and the actors delivered a top-notch performance which blew us away. We had panel discussions afterwards on the topic of domestic and sexual violence and its prevalence in the Deaf community. The play and panel discussions gave our community members the opportunity to see the dynamics of domestic and sexual violence in the household which are often overlooked or kept behind ‘closed doors’. Those who attended were amazed and have asked for more visual theatrical performances like this.

We continue our important work supporting the Deaf survivors of domestic and sexual violence and educating our population on the epidemic of violence in the Deaf community, locally and nationally.
OVW Corner
Image Description:   OVW Program Manager Kara Moller sitting at her desk with numerous posters on the wall.
Info from your OVW Program Manager Kara Moller:

Many grant awards are scheduled to end this month on 9/30/2019. Grantees will have 90 days to close out their grant after their end date of 9/30/2019. 

If you are unfamiliar with the closeout process or just need a brief refresher please see these instructions . All funds must be obligated and activities must be completed by the approved project date. i.e. Grant funds cannot be used for anything that occurs after September 30 th .
Non-Underserved Sponsored Webinars
Sexual Assault within Trafficking in Tribal Communities
So many stereotypes and assumptions continue to persist, but what is really going on in tribal communities? This webinar will focus on bringing awareness to tribal communities around issues faced by survivors and discuss how advocates can best respond to these survivors of multiple victimizations.

Identifying and Addressing the Housing Needs of Sexual Assault Survivors
Time: 11:00 am PT, 12:00 pm MT, 1:00 pm CT, 2:00 pm ET
Date: Friday, September 20
This webinar will provide detailed practice tips on how to advocate for housing remedies for sexual assault survivors. The presenters will discuss early lease terminations, emergency transfers, perpetrator evictions, and reasonable accommodations.
Federal and State Protections for Survivors Who Call Police or Emergency Assistance
Time: 11:00 am PT, 12:00 pm MT, 1:00 pm CT, 2:00 pm ET
Date: Thursday , September 26
Survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking often need to call for police and emergency assistance. This webinar will provide an overview of state and federal laws that protect the right to seek emergency assistance.

Your ALSO TA Team
Image Description: ALSO's Underserved TA team posing
in a beige hallway at the 2018 Grantee Orientation.

From L-R: Quenette Walton, Lori Crowder, Lisa Gilmore,
Cristina Damiani, Zarena Leblanc, Topher Williamson 
Have Questions? We are here to help!
  • For questions about grant administration: Contact your OVW Program Manager Kara Moller at kara.moller@usdoj.gov.
  • For technical assistance support related to substantive and programmatic issues: Contact your ALSO Underserved TA point of contact at their individual email or the team at underservedtaproject@also-chicago.org
  • Remember to check out the TA Tools and Resources page on ALSO's website. Please also register for the Private Portal for access to resources available only to Underserved Grantees. Contact ALSO Program Assistant Topher Williamson at twilliamson@also-chicago.org for assistance navigating these resources.
Your feedback is important to us!
Have ideas on how to improve this Resource Email, or any other aspect of our TA and trainings? Please send them to us at  underservedtaproject@also-chicago.org . If you have any programmatic highlights or noteworthy news that you would like to see in future Resource Emails, please reach out to your point of contact or email the Underserved team directly. 
Underserved TA Project   | 773.235.5705 |   Email   |   Website
This project is supported by Grant No. 2016-TA-AX-K034 awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, Department of Justice.
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