Project SAYVE: Support and Advocacy for Youth Victims of the Epidemic

OVC’s mission is to enhance the nation’s capacity to assist crime victims and provide leadership in changing policies and practices to promote justice and healing for all victims of crime. OVC achieves this mission, in part, by administering discretionary award programs supported by the federal Crime Victims Fund to develop innovative training and technical assistance, and to provide direct services to improve the overall quality of victim assistance. The purpose of this solicitation is to address an urgent gap in crime victim services related to America’s Drug Crisis to support direct services to children and youth who are crime victims as a result of the nation’s addiction crisis.

This award made to BestSelf Behavioral Health is funded under OVC FY2020 Enhancing Community Responses to America’s Addiction Crisis: Serving Our Youngest Crime Victims. Project SAYVE: Support and Advocacy for Youth Victims of the Epidemic is a multifaceted, cross-systems response to the gap in services for children/youth crime victims of the addiction crisis.

Project SAYVE’s target population is children/youth that have been identified as victims of crimes related to the addiction crisis, ranging in age from 0 to 18 years. The project will take place in Erie County, New York, which includes the City of Buffalo and its surrounding suburbs. The program will provide comprehensive victim services to the target population through the following objectives: Increase the quality and quantity of direct services, including treatment for infants suffering from neonatal abstinence syndrome, and support to children, youth, and their caregivers; Provide assistance or referrals to other essential services for young victims and their families/caregivers; Collaborate with and provide training to local partners; Improve outcomes for child and youth victims, depending on types of services provided (e.g., health and wellbeing, family stability, school outcomes); and Use local data sources to identify and address the most pressing local needs.

CA/NCF