Office On Violence Against Women

Three (3) Year Program; $735,000 – Start Date October 1, 2011

The Allegany County Community Opportunities and Rural Development Corporation (ACCORD), a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and the Pennsylvania border of New York State, is implementing the ACCORD OVW Rural Domestic Violence, Rape, Sexual Assault Victims Services Project to enhance how Allegany County addresses sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. ACCORD is partnering with Cattaraugus Community Action, Inc., the Allegany County Sheriff’s Office, and the Allegany County Probation Department to provide essential services to protect and serve women and children with limited resources and are victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in rural Allegany County.

Through this initial award, the project is:

• Supporting a domestic violence program manager, two domestic violence advocates, and one domestic violence on-call advocate.
• Implementing services to increase awareness and prevention by expanding cooperative efforts among local law enforcement and victim advocacy agencies providing treatment, advocacy, counseling, case management, education, and non-residential services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and rape.
• Addressing transportation barriers that prevent accessibility to victim services.
• Sustaining existing non-residential and Chances Program support group services.
• Offering an additional weekly batterers intervention class to serve an additional 25 perpetrators annually.
• Expanding and enhance sexual assault and rape crisis services offered to Allegany County victims including mental health counseling, support groups, primary prevention and education services for local agencies, civic and faith-based groups.
• Increasing accountability and treatment outcomes of sex offender services.

Please click here to contact Dr. Bitting for additional information.