Minneapolis, MN— A coalition of Minnesota organizations has been awarded a $294,940 U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime grant. The coalition will develop a holistic national model for providing wraparound pro bono legal assistance to meet the legal needs of victims of crime. The project will be administered by the Council on Crime and Justice.

Together, the coalition members will conduct a crime victim legal services needs assessment in Minnesota. Based on the findings, they will design a detailed plan for providing victims with needed legal services and referrals.

The agencies in the coalition are:

Battered Women’s Legal Advocacy Project

Council on Crime and Justice

Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota

Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid

Minnesota Alliance on Crime

Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault

Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women

Minnesota Office of Justice Programs

The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office

Saint Paul Domestic Abuse Intervention Project

Someplace Safe

Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services

Volunteer Lawyers Network

Minnesota was one of only six jurisdictions across the country chosen for these one year demonstration project grants, with three years of additional funding possible. Although the project will work to provide legal services to all victims of crime, these grants are part of the Justice Department’s initiatives to expand services to human trafficking victims. According to the announcement of the grants on the Office of Victims of Crime website, "Human trafficking—also known as trafficking in persons—is tantamount to modern-day slavery. It dehumanizes and traumatizes victims and often shocks communities when it is discovered. Victims include men, women and children—the foreign-born, U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents—who are trafficked for sex and/or for labor in both large cities and small towns." (http://www.ovc.gov/news/human_trafficking.html)

"Victims of crime often have multiple legal needs which arise as a result of their victimization. I believe Minnesota received this grant because of the strong victim and legal services we already have in place to address these needs, demonstrated by the outstanding group of coalition partners that came together to apply for the funding. This project will build on those strengths and allow us to identify and work to fill any gaps in services, while developing a model for others across the country, as well as better serving victims of crime here in Minnesota." said Judge Pamela Alexander, President of the Council on Crime and Justice.