Press Release

Schumer, Gillibrand, Markowitz, Hynes Announce $200,000 Investment for Brooklyn; Funding for Domestic Violence Homicide Reduction Demonstrative Initiative

Apr 25, 2013

U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, along with Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and Kings County District Attorney Charles Hynes, today announced that Brooklyn will receive $200,000 in funds from the Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) through the Domestic Violence Homicide Prevention Demonstration Initiative. Specifically,  Brooklyn will use this money in collaboration with Safe Horizon, a local nonprofit domestic violence service provider, to implement domestic violence homicide reduction and prevention models, evaluate how well they work in different communities and determine which components add to success of the models.

“Protecting women from abusers and predators is an enormous priority, and this investment for research will improve safety and response for Brooklyn residents who are victims of violence, abuse and assault,” said Schumer. “I am pleased such an important federal investment is being made in Brooklyn and that, under the leadership of Borough President Markowitz and District Attorney Hynes, this program will help keep women safe.”

“There is simply no room for partisan gamesmanship when we’re talking about the safety of our families,” Gillibrand said. “It is critical that we provide victims of sexual and domestic violence with the support and safety they need. This federal investment will help provide the resources Brooklyn Borough President Markowitz and District Attorney Hynes need on the ground to effectively implement programs to advocate, counsel, and support Brooklyn women and their families.”

“Bravo to the Department of Justice and to New York’s always hard-working Senators, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, for securing this funding and helping combat violence against women. I was proud to join with the Senators and D.A. Hynes in partnering to pursue this grant, because as we have all long stressed, domestic violence has no place in Brooklyn and we need to continue improving the resources available for education, prevention and victim care. This funding will continue to support Safe Horizon‘s important work, safeguarding and educating women in destructive relationships and putting a stop to the atrocity that is domestic violence and abuse,” said Markowitz.

“I am deeply honored that my office was one of 12 in the United States to be chosen for this wonderful project. I am very grateful to Senator Schumer and Senator Gillibrand for their leadership and for their advocacy on our behalf and to the Department of Justice through the Violence Against Women Act which led to this grant. I want to thank Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz for acting as our grantee and for agreeing to transfer these funds to my office and Dr. Richard Peterson, Ph.D.  New York City Criminal Justice Agency for his invaluable assistance and to Safe Horizon so we can identify ways in which we can increase services to Domestic Violence victims in Brooklyn and to their surviving children,” D.A. Hynes said.

 

The Borough of Brooklyn will use the $200,000 Department of Justice award to implement a project that will provide a comprehensive range of services and responses to victims of domestic violence. Through this funding, OVW’s Initiative will help research the most effective practices for preventing and responding to incidents of domestic violence. In Phase 1, the first twelve-month phase of the four-year DVHR Initiative, the Borough and its partners will conduct a comprehensive assessment of shelters’ response processes, systems and partnerships that address domestic violence homicide reduction. OVW has selected twelve sites for this phase. By the end of the assessment process, the Initiative hopes to identify key barriers and gaps faced by domestic violence victims as a means of developing a plan to address the challenges identified in the research.