NH Delegation Announces Over $1 Million to Support Survivors of Domestic and Sexual Violence

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Representatives Annie Kuster (NH-02) and Chris Pappas (NH-01) today announced over $1 million to support survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Turning Points Network in Claremont will receive a $450,000 award through the Transitional House Grant Assistance Program, which is administered by the Department of Justice (DOJ), to support transitional housing for survivors or domestic violence. The amount awarded by the DOJ is an increase of $100,000 over last year’s grant award. Additionally, the Northern Border Regional Commission has awarded Turning Points Network $250,000 to support infrastructure efforts to move locations within Claremont. The delegation also announced that the New Hampshire Department of Justice would separately receive $383,741 through the Office on Violence Against Women to support rape crisis centers and other non-profit organizations that provide assistance to survivors of sexual assault. Senator Shaheen is the lead Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee that funds the Department of Justice. Congresswoman Kuster advocated on behalf of Turning Points for the NBRC grant. Shaheen and Kuster supported the organization’s Transitional House Grant Assistance Program grant application.

“Community organizations in New Hampshire perform critical work in providing support, safety and advocacy for survivors of domestic and sexual violence,” said Senator Shaheen. “As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I will always work to ensure that our community partners both in New Hampshire and around the nation have the resources they need to provide vital services for survivors and help them seek justice and navigate their road to recovery.”

“Survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence have suffered unspeakable trauma, and it is critical that they receive the guidance and resources that they need to help them on the path to recovery,” Senator Hassan said. “These federal grants will provide much-needed assistance to community organizations that deliver crucial support to survivors.”  

“No survivor of domestic or sexual violence should worry about having a safe place to stay,” said Congresswoman Kuster, the founder and co-chair of the Bipartisan Task Force to End Sexual Violence. “This funding will help ensure survivors have a roof over their head, which is critical for their recovery. I’ll continue my efforts to increase funding for organizations like Turning Points so that all survivors have access to the support services they need to heal and move forward with their lives.”

“It is so important that we support and fund local groups and community organizations that provide assistance for domestic and sexual violence survivors,” said Congressman Pappas. “I remain committed – along with my colleagues in our delegation - to making sure that Granite Staters have access to the resources they need, including transitional housing and improved access to crisis centers,  if they experience domestic or sexual violence.” 

“Turning Points Network is excited to receive this funding from the Office of Violence Against Women to assist up to 60 families over the next three years with housing and financial empowerment services.  In the end, survivors will be able to afford their own safe, permanent housing and be in a position to provide for their families on their own.  We are grateful to our US Delegation for their efforts in helping to secure this funding. We have no doubt that their support made the difference in TPN receiving this extremely competitive national funding,” said Deborah Mozden, Executive Director of Turning Points Network.

“Turning Points Network has a longstanding history of providing trauma-informed and survivor-led housing services to survivors of domestic violence. We are grateful that they have been awarded funding to continue their life-changing work in the Sullivan County region, which represents groundbreaking work across the country that we should all be proud of,” said Amanda Grady Sexton, Director of Public Affairs at the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence.

Senator Shaheen has led efforts in Congress to safeguard the Office on Violence Against Women and programs operated under the Violence Against Women Act. The only woman on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Shaheen has been a relentless advocate for women and girls in the United States and around the world. In the last Congress, Senator Shaheen led the bipartisan effort to reintroduce the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA), which would ensure combating gender-based violence around the world remains a top diplomatic and development priority for the United States. As the lead Democrat of the Senate Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Shaheen has repeatedly negotiated record-level federal funding to support grants provided through the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). In the fiscal year (FY) 2019 funding legislation, Shaheen procured $497.5 million, the highest level to date, for VAWA grants administered by the OVW. Shaheen fought to reauthorize VAWA in 2013, working to help end the gridlock that had prevented its passage, and has continued to urge Senate Republican leadership to consider the House-passed VAWA reauthorization legislation.

###