Sept. 28, 2009
The University of Wisconsin-Stout in Menomonie is pleased to continue its Campus Violence Prevention Project as the result of a federal grant award.
The university has received a three-year grant totaling $275,000 from the Office on Violence Against Women, a division of the Department of Justice. The grant cycle begins Oct. 1.
UW-Stout received funding in 2004, and again in 2006, to initiate the campus-wide violence prevention project. The project provides victim advocacy and violence prevention education.
The grant was not renewed for another cycle in 2009 due to the sheer number of applications submitted to the Department of Justice for new grant programs. However, additional funding became available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and UW-Stout was invited to update its proposal for consideration of the funds.
“We couldn’t be more pleased,” Amber Gerber, coordinator of alcohol/drug and violence prevention programs, said. “This project has made great strides in improving service to student victims, promoting healthy relationships among college students, and increasing campus and community collaborations around the issues of violence against women. The renewed funding will allow us to continue these efforts at a high-quality level.”
“Receiving this grant serves as an endorsement of five years of hard work by many people and will allow us to continue our positive momentum in the coming years,” said John Achter, director of the Counseling Center, which serves as the campus home to the Campus Violence Prevention Project.
A search for a grant coordinator to implement the program has begun. The program is expected to be fully operational beginning the second semester.
The Campus Violence Prevention Project will continue to coordinate services with city and county law enforcement, Bridge to Hope, Dunn County’s Sexual Assault Nurse Program, Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Dunn County’s Victim/Witness Assistance Program.
For more information, contact Gerber at gerbera@uwstout.edu or 715-232-2468.
