WSSU awarded half-million-dollar grant for domestic violence awareness program
Winston-Salem State University received nearly half a million dollars to launch a new initiative focused on fostering a safe and supportive environment while addressing and preventing domestic violence.
The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Violence Against Women, awarded a $499,976 grant to a program called, RamsSafe, an acronym for Rams Stop Abuse for Everyone.
RamsSafe will use culturally specific approaches to promote safety and awareness while addressing and preventing stalking, domestic violence, dating violence and sexual assault on campus and in the broader community.
It will provide an opportunity for students, faculty, administrators and community partners to work together to prevent and end violence against women.
Community partners include the Winston-Salem Police Department, Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office and Family Services of Forsyth County, which will provide oversight and input on the program as well as content development.
Other partners within WSSU include the offices of counseling services, interpersonal violence, Title IX, community standards and civility, housing and residential life, dean of students, campus police and the wellness center. These entities will ensure that the programs are delivered to the target population.
The program will be housed within the health and well-being area of the Student Affairs Division. Candice Jackson, assistant vice chancellor of Student Affairs for Health and Well-being and principal investigator of the grant, said she and a newly-hired program coordinator for advocacy and assessment, will lead the program in developing materials, including workshops, videos, discussion guides and public awareness campaigns.
“The primary inspiration stemmed from our commitment to the health, safety and well-being of our students. Also, we recognize it is our collective community’s responsibility to help students be safe from domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. We saw an opportunity to provide our campus community with resources and upstander intervention training,” Jackson said. “Such programming should be developed in partnership or collaboratively with experts in intimate partner and sexual violence prevention and intervention, and this grant will help us to do just that,” she said.
“I firmly believe that the Department of Justice’s investment in Winston-Salem State University will help us build and expand on the work we are doing to enhance trauma-informed education and our holistic care for our students navigating domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, and sexual assault,” Jackson said. “We know this work will help us cultivate a culture of care, where students can flourish.”
About the U.S. DOJ Office on Violence Against Women (OVW): The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) is a component of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). Created in 1995, OVW administers grant programs authorized by the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and subsequent legislation and provides national leadership on issues of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. OVW grants support coordinated community responses that provide services to victims and hold offenders accountable. The Grants to Reduce Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking on Campus Program (Campus Program) provides funding for institutions of higher education to develop and strengthen effective strategies to prevent and address domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking on campus. OVW created the Strengthening Culturally Specific Campuses’ Approaches to Address Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Initiative with funding from the Campus Program to support Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) in strengthening their institutional response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
