Legal Assistance Corporation Awarded Two Federal Grants Totaling $680,000

Contact:  Jonathan Mannina, Executive Director      

Phone: (508) 752-3718

Email: jmannina@laccm.org 

 

This week Legal Assistance Corporation of Central Massachusetts (LACCM) was awarded two federal grants totaling $680,000. The U.S. Department of Justice awarded LACCM a $450,000 three-year grant under its Legal Assistance for Victims grant program, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded LACCM a $230,000 one-year grant under its Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP).

 

The Department of Justice grant will enable LACCM to provide services to domestic violence victims in partnership with Worcester’s Daybreak Resources for Women and Children and Battered Women’s Resources, Inc. (BWRI), of Fitchburg, both programs of the YWCA. This is the third time LACCM has been awarded the grant. LACCM, Daybreak, and BWRI developed the Legal Advocacy for Women (LAW) Partnership, uniting LACCM’s broad legal expertise with BWRI and Daybreak’s in-depth knowledge of the dynamics of domestic violence. Together, the agencies provide a strong, comprehensive continuum of legal services designed to help victims and their families escape the violence and emotional trauma they have suffered. The overall goal of the LAW Partnership is to expand and improve services to help victims obtain abuse prevention orders as well as broad-based legal advice and representation for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking. The LAW Partnership will meet this goal through the joint efforts of lay court advocates in conjunction with the SAFEPLAN program and attorneys providing direct services, in combination with a strengthened referral and support network to ensure victims receive all necessary services.

 

The Housing and Urban Development grant will enable LACCM, in partnership with the City of Worcester, to conduct investigation and carry out enforcement activities to prevent and eliminate discriminatory housing practices in Worcester County. This is the second time that LACCM has been awarded this type of enforcement grant from HUD. The Fair Housing Initiatives Program staff will investigate claims of housing discrimination, will refer cases to HUD and the mass. Commission Against Discrimination, and will litigate cases in state and federal court. As part of its effort to deter unlawful behavior and reach victims of discrimination, the Project staff will also create, translate, and distribute fair housing brochures and flyers throughout the county and run education workshops for certain groups of vulnerable residents, including the homeless, the elderly, and the disabled.   

 

“These two grants will allow LACCM to help hundreds of Worcester County residents with some of their most basic needs: finding decent house of their choice and breaking the cycle of violence,”  said Jonathan Mannina, Executive Director of the Legal Assistance Corporation of Central Massachusetts. “We look forward to working closely with our partners—Daybreak, BWRI, and the City of Worcester– on these projects.”

 

“The Legal Assistance Corporation of Central Massachusetts does incredible work,” said U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern “I’m very pleased that the Department of Justice and the Department of Housing and Urban Development are continuing to support efforts to end domestic violence and housing discrimination in our community.  I will continue to work in Congress to make sure these important programs have sufficient funding.”

 

Additional Contacts:

 

VAWA: Linda Cavaioli, YWCA Worcester      

Phone: (508) 791-3181

Email: lcavaioli@ywcaworcester.org

 

HUD: Fran Manocchio, City of Worcester, Office of Human Rights

Phone: (508) 799-1186

Email: manocchiof@ci.worcester.ma.us 

 

 

 

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