Havre groups to receive violence prevention grants

Several local service organizations are receiving nearly $75,000 in grant money to help victims of domestic and sexual violence and to establish a violence prevention program for youths.

The Montana Board of Crime Control has awarded more than $50,000 to District IV Human Resources Development Council and nearly $25,000 to the HELP Committee and Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line, according to a press release from the state Attorney General's Office.

The grants were among more than $2.9 million distributed throughout the state.

The HELP Committee and Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line received $23,510 through the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities grant program.

The money will be used to implement the Second Step program of after-school activities for Boys & Girls Club members, club director Krista Solomon said today.

Second Step is a violence-prevention program that teaches students empathy, impulse control, problem solving and anger management, Solomon said, adding that the program is also used by Havre Public Schools.

It primarily targets students in grades one through five, though it also has a middle school component and family component, she said. The program will work well at the Boys & Girls Club because it can be implemented as part of many of the club's activities, Solomon said.

"We just really want it to be a consistent message and really visible to the kids and the community," she said.

The grant money will be used to pay for curriculum, staff training and other costs. The program should be up and running by late fall, Solomon said.

This is the first year that the Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line has applied for a grant through the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act program. Havre's share of the money was among more than $400,000 distributed to 20 programs around the state. The grants are specifically earmarked for communities to establish drug- and violence-prevention programs for kids, according to a press release from the Attorney General's Office.

Priority is given to programs and activities for children not normally served by state or local agencies, the press release said.

HRDC's advocacy program, which serves as a resource for victims of sexual and domestic violence, received a $51,350 grant through the Victims of Crime Act program. HRDC was one of 41 agencies throughout the state that received a total of more than $1.4 million.

The Victims of Crime Act program is designed to provide direct services to crime victims, and special consideration is given to those agencies that help victims of domestic violence and child abuse.

The U.S. Department of Justice provides funding for the program.

HRDC domestic violence coordinator Roxanne Ross could not be reached for comment this morning.