Domestic violence prevention grants go to rural Alaska

Non-profit groups in Dillingham, Bethel, Kodiak and have been awarded state grants to build violence-free communities. The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services' Division of Behavioral Health announced the grants Feb. 1, all part of Gov. Sean Parnell's statewide initiative to end an epidemic of domestic violence and sexual assault. A grant of $372,642 in the first year and up to $1 million a year over the next three years, depending on future funding appropriations, was awarded to Safe and Fear-Free Environment in Dillingham. Those funds will also serve Aleknagik. Three grants of $200,000 annually for this year and the next three years were awarded each to the Association of Village Council Presidents, for Bethel and surrounding villages; to Kodiak Area Native Association, for communities on Kodiak Island, and to Sitkans Against Family Violence, for Sitka, Kake and Angoon. State officials said the successful applicants proposed new ideas, demonstrated community involvement and set measurable goals to reduce domestic violence and sexual assault in their regions.