SNOWE, COLLINS ANNOUNCE $4.6 MILLION IN GRANT FUNDING TO HELP PREVENT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe and U.S. Senator Susan Collins today announced that seven Maine organizations have been awarded a combined $4,685,162 in grant from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women. The grant funding will be used to help reduce domestic violence and dating violence.

The funding will be allocated as follows:
University of Southern Maine, Gorham - $2,360,300
Pleasant Point Passamaquoddy Tribe, Perry - $809,795
Penobscot Nation, Indian Island - $450,000
Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Augusta - $119,214
York County, Alfred - $399,252
Maine Department of Public Safety, Augusta - $228,677
Battered Women's Project, Presque Isle - $317,924

"Each year in Maine alone, hundreds of women survive domestic violence and dating violence. This funding will help an organization that is dedicated to ensuring that battered women are supported and that abusers are held accountable," said Senators Snowe and Collins in a joint statement.

The DOJ's Office on Violence Against Women is committed to improving the response to violent crimes against women, including the crimes of sexual assault, domestic violence, and dating violence. In order to accomplish this, the program emphasizes the coordination of victim services.