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As a result of the statewide needs assessment conducted by the Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ) in 2015, housing for victims of crime was identified as a Special Project for the use of the new Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Victim Assistance funds. DCJ’s Office for Victims Programs (OVP) worked collaboratively with the state domestic violence coalition, Violence Free Colorado, and other stakeholders to address this need by supporting a set of demonstration sites across the state in the implementation of new methods of housing for crime victims. For the first time, these demonstration sites were funded to use innovative, housing first best practices with survivors of domestic violence seeking stability and safe housing for themselves and/or their families. During the Special Project 438 survivors were served with financial assistance and mobile advocacy and 90% of these survivors were able to maintain current housing or obtain new housing as a result of financial assistance and advocacy they received. In addition to the partnership between DCJ, Violence Free Colorado, and the demonstration sites, this work would not have been possible without the deep collaboration and support of the Attorney General’s Office during Cynthia Coffman’s administration, the Housing for Crime Victims Special Project Steering Committee, and of course, the evaluator, Dr. Echo Rivera of Creative Research Communications.
Read the report: https://www.violencefreecolorado.org/housing/specialhousingprojectreport_final-002/
