IDHS awarded 2-year, $315k grant through DOJ's Training and Services to End Violence Against Women With Disabilities Grants Program

Chicago, IL – The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) has been awarded a $315,000, 2-year grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Violence Against Women. This competitive grant is funded through the Training and Services to End Violence Against Women With Disabilities Grants Program; the grant focuses on enhancing the system response to sexual violence against individuals with disabilities and deaf individuals. Illinois and Wisconsin are the only two states to have successfully competed to secure this funding since 2006.

The IDHS initiative, Illinois Imagines, engages the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Illinois Network of Independent Living Centers, Illinois Family Violence Coordinating Council, Self-Advocacy Alliance and Blue Tower Training as partners in our mission to put an end to the sexual abuse of women with disabilities. Illinois Imagines has held a series of regional trainings on its Guide for Starting Empowerment Groups. Empowerment Groups are designed to help women with disabilities support each other in preventing sexual assault and finding resources to help survivors of sexual assault. Self-advocates, rape crisis center staff and disability service providers participated in the 5 regional trainings.