The Healing Native Hearts Coalition (HNHC) is a Tribal sexual assault and domestic violence coalition whose goal for this project is to prevent sexual violence perpetration and victimization by advancing health equity through implementing and evaluating evidence-informed and Indigenous Knowledge-informed strategies that address Indigenous Determinants of Health (IDOH) and health equity among the AI/AN population in our service area. HNHC is headquartered in Fairbanks, Alaska and our target population for this project is AI/AN population in Fairbanks and the surrounding native communities in the Interior, an area that covers about 167,644 square miles. Alaskan Native women are at a significantly high risk of sexual violence (SV) in Alaska. American Indian or Alaska Native females were reported to have the highest victimization rate of any gender or racial group, comprising 50.7% of reported victims. Despite these staggering statistics, tribal communities remain largely underfunded and under-resourced in SV prevention and treatment. HNHC’s proposed project will address sexual violence by assessing capacity for SV prevention, developing a tribal SV prevention plan, implementing SV prevention programs and evaluating program progress. Two populations and strategies are proposed:
Focus Area: Strengthen Economic Supports
To strengthen economic supports, HNHC will use the approach of strengthening household financial security by providing financial education and assistance programs for clients at high risk for SV perpetration and providing personal financial navigation and education for AI/AN women and girls, especially those residing in our rural tribal communities. HNHC will enhance current programs that provide client financial assistance and implement new ones that will be culturally relevant and focus on improving the long-term financial stability of households, rather than temporary financial solutions.
Focus Area: Create Protective Environments
HNHC will use the approach of improving school climate and safety to create protective environments by using resources identified in the CDC’s Sexual Violence Prevention Resource for Action. HNHC will partner with school districts in tribal communities to the region and will travel to these schools to provide services. STOP SV strategies such as Bystander Approaches and Social-emotional learning will be identified and tailored for our tribal community schools.
By the end of the period of performance, HNHC will decrease rates of sexual violence
perpetration and victimization among youth and a reduction in economic disparities that
impact SV rates. There will be an increase in positive school climate survey results.
