Services to Afghan Survivors Impacted by Combat
Services to Afghan Survivors Impacted by Combat
About
The Services to Afghan Survivors Impacted by Combat funds organizations assisting Afghan refugees and immigrants with resettling in the United States through social and legal services. This grant helps newly arrived ASA-eligible Afghans overcome severe, pervasive, and long-lasting combat-related trauma and to facilitate their achievement of sustained physical, social, emotional, and economic well-being. ORR intends to achieve these goals through increasing Afghan combat survivors’ access to and engagement with effective, holistic, strengths-based, and trauma-informed services.
In support of this effort, ORR will also fund the establishment of a national network of culturally responsive providers specialized in meeting the needs of Afghan arrivals for such services. Recipients will provide holistic and integrated services, including medical, psychological, and social work services, and immigration-related legal assistance, either directly and/or through referrals to partners or affiliates, to Afghans who experienced combat-related trauma and arrived in the United States under Operation Allies Refuge (OAR)/Operation Allies Welcome (OAW).
Eligible Uses
Providing social and legal services for eligible Afghan immigrants.
Grant Award
Up to $1,000,000
Eligible
Recipients
Independent school districts, private institutions of higher education, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, state governments, nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status, Native American tribal organizations, city or township governments, for profit organizations (other than small businesses), small businesses, special district governments, county governments, and public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
Restrictions
Unknown
Due Date
June 30, 2022. This grant has not been repeated previously.
Agency
Department of Health and Human Services
Link
Materials Needed
Unknown
Application Difficulty
Unknown
To implement community safety-focused programs, jurisdictions must have an adequate supply of peers and professionals who can provide voluntary, non-coercive services that support physical and mental health—and allow appropriate staffing for non-carceral crisis response and similar programs. Expanding access to basic health care has been found to reduce crime, as well as save money on legal system expenses. Research demonstrates that when the number of treatment facilities for substance use disorder increases, crime decreases in the same area. Expanded access to mental health treatment, and psychiatric treatment in particular, has been found to reduce violent crime.
This effect is especially powerful when looking at youth. Increasing wraparound services in schools that treat physical and mental health in high risk areas have been shown to reduce juvenile arrests as well as child abuse cases. High quality afterschool programs that promote students’ health and development can reduce drug use and decrease arrests and other forms of criminal-legal involvement among children. Furthermore, early childhood intervention programs, as well as nutrition programs for newborns, are likely to reduce crime. Expanded access to mental health treatment, and to psychiatric treatment in particular, has also been found to reduce violent crime.
Community safety cannot succeed without a robust, well-trained workforce of mental health and treatment professionals—not only because these services can reduce violence and harm, but also because physical and mental health are vitally important for safety itself. For too long, this country has taken a punishment and enforcement approach to how we address mental health, substance use, and related issues; the following investments, paired with further public health-centered policy changes, are a first step toward changing this paradigm.
Grants.Gov Resources
Applicant Training Videos (step-by-step guide on how to find grants, set up an account on grants.gov, and submit an application)
Applicant FAQ page
Other Resources
Community Toolbox’s Applying For Grants Toolkit (Outline of process + example applications)
Q: What is community safety?
A: We use the term “community safety” as well as “non-carceral safety” to indicate an approach to reducing violence and harm that invests in people over punishment. This can include unarmed civilian first responders and community violence prevention, but must also center preventative and root-caused focused solutions such as investments in schools, healthcare, and the environment. These solutions not only create holistic safety by improving well-being, they have been directly tied to reductions in violence.
Q: How do the grants in the American Rescue Plan and other recent bills fit into this database?
A: This database contains grants contained both in specific legislation (like the American Rescue Plan Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs act, and the Inflation Reduction act) but it focuses primarily on grants funded annually through the federal budget process. Please see our resources specifically on ARPA and IIJA for more information on funding opportunities in those bills.
Q: Where should I go if I have additional questions?
A: Feel free to reach out to samwashington@civilrightscorps.org with questions or comments. If you’d like to suggest a grant, please fill out this form.