LOTUS Legal Clinic and CORE El Centro to Receive Part of Historic Funding
On May 11, 2023, Esperanza United and Mujeres Latinas en Acción announced the 28 recipients for their “Hispanic and Latin@ Culturally Specific Domestic Violence or Sexual Assault Services Grant,” and LOTUS Legal Clinic and CORE El Centro are among them!
Seventy-eight organizations applied to receive part of the nearly $12 million in grant funds to be distributed across three years. Part of the federal 2021 Family Violence Prevention & Services Act (FVPSA) and the American Rescue Plan Act, the historic grant funds are to be used to enhance access to critical services and support for Hispanic and Latin@ survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence and address emergent needs resulting from the spread of COVID-19.
LOTUS Legal Clinic and CORE El Centro began sharing space in the Clock Shadow Building of Walker’s Point in 2022 and are excited to be receiving a grant to begin their partnership.
LOTUS supports survivors of human trafficking and sexual violence through an innovative blend of trauma-informed legal services and therapeutic writing workshops. LOTUS attorneys advise and represent survivors in legal matters that stem from their victimization such as immigration, school and workplace protections, victims' rights enforcement, restraining orders, and post-conviction criminal records clearance. LOTUS approaches their mission with a focus on survivor-led pathways to justice and healing by giving clients the information, tools, and space to make informed decisions.
CORE works in the interest of mental and physical health equity by providing holistic healing modalities such as acupuncture, massage, yoga, and energy work as well as health education that center the Latin@ community and the unique barriers of the community. CORE’s services are effective in helping survivors of sexual assault reconnect body, mind, and spirit after trauma.
Through cross-training and developing a survivor-centered system of referral, LOTUS and CORE will be able to more fully support healing and equitable access for survivors. This partnership will give LOTUS the capacity to onboard a full-time bilingual Survivor Advocate that will collaborate with CORE’s Health Navigator in assisting survivors in navigating the complex legal, medical, and other support systems to ensure that they have access to the services they need to move beyond their victimization. Survivors will have access to a wide array of holistic therapies and other healing modalities at CORE with the guidance of a personal Health Navigator who understands the healing journey.
Additionally, LOTUS and CORE will contract with local Latine writing facilitators to create culturally specific writing workshops that will provide opportunities for healing and community connection for Latinx survivors of sexual violence.
“Mujeres Latinas en Acción is delighted by the announcement of the culturally specific sexual assault grantees. These organizations have demonstrated their commitment to expand and develop their programs to strengthen services for the Latine/x populations in the United States,” said Linda Xóchitl Tortolero, President and CEO of Mujeres Latinas en Acción. “We plan to support the grantees in their efforts to reach their goals and deliver more critical services based on their own particular community’s needs. Hopefully, this is the beginning of increased investments in training and technical assistance to foster the development of more culturally specific Latine/x sexual assault programs.”
CORE and LOTUS are thrilled to be connected with so many amazing organizations around the U.S. for the next few years of this grant cycle. Curious about that full list of grantees? Here they are:
Domestic Violence Grantees
La Casa Inc., New Mexico, lacasainc.org
Casa Juana Colon Apoyo, Puerto Rico, casajuanacolon.com
Casa Luz, Tennessee, casaluzmemphis.org
Casa Protegida Julia de Burgos Inc., Puerto Rico, casajulia.org
Centro La Familia Advocacy Services Inc., California, centrolafamilia.org
Chicanos Por la Causa, Arizona, cplc.org
Consejo Counseling and Referral Services, Washington, consejocounseling.org
Enlace Comunitario, New Mexico, enlacenm.org
Hispanos Unidos de Buffalo, New York, promesa.org
The Latina Center, California, thelatinacenter.org
Mixteco, California, mixteco Monarch Services, California, monarchscc.org
Mujeres Unidas en Justicia Educacion y Reforma Inc., Florida, mujerfla.org
Ohio Hispanic Coalition Institute, Ohio, ohiohispaniccoalition.org
Proyecto Matria, Inc., Puerto Rico, proyectomatria.org
Sepa Mujer Inc., New York, sepamujer.org/
Taller Salud Inc., Puerto Rico, tallersaludpr.org
Voces Latinas Corporation, New York, voceslatinas.org
Sexual Assault Grantees
Alianza Nacional de Campesinas OR/FL, California, campesinasunited.org
Casa Fortaleza, New Mexico, casafortaleza.org
Community Estrella, Georgia,.facebook.com/comunityestrellas and the fiscal sponsor, The Translatina Coalition, California, translatinacoalition.org
ore El Centro, Wisconsin, core-elcentro.org in partnership with the Lotus Legal Clinic Inc, lotuslegal.org
Latinos in Virginia Empowerment Center, Virginia, latinosenvirginia.org
LUNA (Latinas Unidas por Un Nuevo Amanecer), Iowa, lunaiowa.org
Nuevo Sendero, Florida, nuevosendero.org
Pati’s Libelulas, Iowa, patislibe.org
Trinity Healing Center, New York, thehealingcenterny.org
Violence Intervention Program, New York, vipmujeres.org