The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) has awarded Bridges Oregon a 3-year grant of $450,000 to support Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing survivors. This organization is one of ten award recipients in the United States who will improve outreach, services, and support for survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking from underserved communities. The funds from OVW will support the expansion of our victim services and deploy outreach tailored to the needs of Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing populations. The outreach plan also includes developing an age-appropriate curriculum to cover critical content such as “Relationship Safety and Technology” and “Dating Violence” education to school-age Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing children in schools across the state.
The organization is the only statewide linguistic and culturally-responsive nonprofit organization in Oregon to provide advocacy, education, and communication services to Oregonians who are Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing. In the past 12 months, our existing Victims of Crimes Act (VOCA) Advocate served and is still serving nearly 60 survivors and 12 of them are survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. The growing demand demonstrates a need for a dedicated Advocate to work closely with Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.
The newly awarded funding will support Bridges Oregon to lease our first-ever physical office at one of the Center for Hope and Safety (CHS) offices. The new office will primarily and only provide sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, and general victim crime services.
“This OVW grant marks our very first Federal grant to address the needs in this marginalized community,” Executive Director Chad A. Ludwig says. Bridges Oregon will employ a full-time OVW Advocate to provide advocacy, accompaniment, and outreach services to support survivors achieve experiences positive to reduce violence and advance civil rights.
“We are thankful for the impact this OVW grant will have on the Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing community,” Ludwig says. “We will use the funds from the OVW grant to continue our mission: to facilitate equity, inclusiveness, and provide a bridge to opportunities through advocacy, education, and communication.” We will go through an implementation period and we then will make available to the public our sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking-centered service to the Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing community by the end of 2022.
About Bridges Oregon:
Bridges Oregon is a nonprofit for Oregonians who are Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing or face other communication barriers. It is our mission to facilitate equity and inclusiveness and to provide a bridge to opportunities through advocacy, education, and communication.