STTARS wants to wish everyone a happy Pride Month! As our mission includes honoring diversity and creating belonging for us all, uplifting the voices of our LGBTQIA2S+ relatives is a pillar in our work.
We feel so blessed to have such a diverse staff as well as National Workgroup. We hope this month brings everyone together with joy and love!
(Left to right) STTARS ARP Coordinator and Specialist Paloma Sánchez, STTARS Director Caroline LaPorte, STTARS Program Assistant Brianna Cervantes, and STTARS Senior Housing Specialist Gwendolyn Packard. Photo courtesy of Caroline LaPorte.
2024 Nonprofit Technology Conference by NTEN March 12-15
In March a few members of STTARS attended the 2024 Nonprofit Technology Conference with NIWRC.
The main purpose of the conference was to provide informative sessions about best practices around using technology in the nonprofit space, with a social justice framework. Each day was started off with a fascinating keynote speaker where they discussed how they implement this in their line of work.
Some of the sessions STTARS attended taught them more about being mindful of the type of data you collect when conducting surveys, how to improve communication in a multi-generational organization, how to switch to a 4 day work week, and different project management tools.
STTARS had a wonderful experience getting to spend time in person with one another while also being exposed to new ways to use technology to better serve others. Our Gwen Packard and Brianna Cervantes even had a friendly game of ping pong!
Photo of Nicole Matthews / Photo courtesy of Clarice Charlie-Hubbard.
MIWSAC Conference in San Fransisco April 9-12
Caroline LaPorte, Director STTARS Indigenous Safe Housing Center and Clarice Charlie-Hubbard, Housing & Shelter Specialist presented on Understanding the Connections Between Sexual Violence and Housing in Indigenous Communities for MIWSAC’s 2024 Strengthening Sovereign Responses to Sex Trafficking in Indian Country and Alaska Conference in April 2024.
Sexual assault is both a precursor to and a consequence of homelessness. Experiencing sexual violence can jeopardize a person’s housing, and experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity can increase the risk someone will experience violence. The relationship between sexual violence and housing is multi-layered and complex. This presentation by STTARS, the new Indigenous Safe Housing Center, helped participants in understanding the connections between sexual violence and housing for Indigenous survivors, as well as recognizing the challenges and barriers survivors face and incorporating strategies and best practices based on VAWA and rooted in traditional and trauma-informed approaches to respond.
First National Workgroup Meeting of 2024!
Photo of National Workgroup Members and Mother Nation Staff / Photo courtesy of Mother Nation.
STTARS hosted its first of two annual National Workgroup on Safe Housing For American Indian and Alaska Native Survivors of Gender-Based Violence for FY24. Our entire team traveled to Seattle, WA where we were met heartily by our host organization Mother Nation. Over two days, our workgroup members discussed emerging and ongoing housing and shelter issues and trends, best practices, available resources, and local/national updates. Carolyn DeFord and Norine Hill also led us through some MMIWR activities for STTARS’ participation in NIWRC’s National Week of Action. Our STTARS team created a printable sign for programs to utilize during NIWRC’s 4th Day of Action, which specifically focused on the action of Honor: “Honoring women is prevention. How do you honor MMIWR? How do you honor Indigenous women? Tell us by using the hashtag #HonorMMIWR.” Against the incredible backdrop of the Puyallup Tribe’s Honoring our Medicine Paddle Quilt, brought by Carolyn Deford, STTARS and Workgroup Members created their signs and participated in the development of an MMIWR video thanks to Mother Nation.
During our time in Seattle, we were also able to tour Chief Seattle Club’s housing options for Indigenous survivors and met with their program managers to discuss their new transitional housing options that are in development. We additionally took our Workgroup Members to tour the new site for Mother Nation’s Spirit Journey Village.
Big shoutout to Clarice Charlie-Hubbard who got us up and dancing!
Tune in to Our Upcoming Webinar
Join us for a webinar that explores the challenges faced by Two-Spirit survivors of gender-based violence at the intersection of the COVID-19 pandemic and housing insecurity. In this session, our speaker will delve into the multifaceted impacts of these overlapping crises and discuss strategies for supporting and advocating for the Two-Spirit community. They will offer practical insights, shared lived experiences, and explore culturally responsive solutions to address systemic barriers.
Meet the Presenter!
Photo courtesy of Bridie Johnson.
Bridie Johnson, LMSW, LCSW, LAC, ICADC, is a Canadian Chippewa of the Garden River, First Nations, also known as Ketegaunseebee. This is an Ojibwa band located at Garden River #14 near Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. Her traditional Spirit name is “the Drum Maker” which is symbolic of the “De” or the heartbeat, hence their ability to heal the heart. She is a mother, a wife, and a mentor to the community and those in the field of social work. She currently works at Abode Services in San Francisco, as the Director of the Full Circle Program. She was previously the Senior Director of Behavioral Health Services at Colorado Coalition of the Homeless. Before that, she was the Clinical Supervisor of the American Indian Health and Family Services behavioral health program, an urban Indigenous center in Detroit. Bridie was the former Director of Programs at Ruth Ellis Center and served on the Board of Directors there for over ten years. Bridie has an associate degree in Business Law from Delta, a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Saginaw Valley State University, and a master’s degree in social work from Wayne State University. She has been fully licensed and received a postmaster’s certificate in Marital and Family Studies at Wayne State University in 2002. Bridie has a private practice that combines a two-eyed seeing approach; where she melds traditional Indigenous knowledge with her western formal education to create a space for others’ healing. It is called Natural Change Impressions “Where change happens Naturally through Impression”. Bridie has taught undergraduate studies in the social work department at Saginaw Valley State University and was a field instructor for over 20 years at the University of Michigan in the MSW program. Bridie is an Indigenous breast/chest-feeding counselor and full-spectrum doula. She was a co-chair for the 2024 BAAIT’s Two-Spirit Pow Wow and is currently an active member of the state of Michigan’s Human Trafficking Task Force. She currently sits on the Board of Ethics for the National Association for Social Workers as well as on the National Clinical Advisory Board for National Healthcare for the Homeless.
STTARS Director Caroline LaPorte and STTARS ARP Coordinator and Specialist Paloma Sánchez will be presenting at this year's NAIHC Annual Convention June 24-27. This convention includes training sessions that will cover issues that affect tribal housing programs. See their presentation information below.
Title: Housing as a Critical Preventative Factor for GBV
Presenter: Caroline LaPorte, She/Her, STTARS Director
Date: Tuesday, June 25 Time: 1:45 pm - 3:15 pm Room: Terrace A
Title: Using ARP Funds: Safe Housing Options for Survivors
Presenter: Paloma Hąąpnąąžįwiiga Sánchez, they/them, ARP Coordinator and Specialist
Date: Wednesday, June 26 Time: 9:35 am - 11:05 am Room: Terrace C
New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs Is Hosting Their 1st Annual Statewide Conference and STTARS Will Be There!
Luminarias Lighting the Path Forward conference will be held June 25-June 27 at Isleta Resort and Casino. This conference is a time for attendees to connect, restore, learn and share their wisdom as we gather around enhancing support for survivors of sexual assault in New Mexico.
STTARS Senior Housing Specialist Gwendolyn Packard and STTARS Safe Housing and Shelter Specialist Clarice Charlie-Hubbard will be presenting at the conference: "Understanding the Connections between Sexual Violence and Housing in Indigenous Communities".
The conference will include content for preventionists, advocates, counselors, SANE nurses, Forensic Interviewers, & more!
Time is ticking for FVPSA Tribal Grantees!
Funds for core FVPSA grants must be spent down by September 30, 2024. Are you on track? Do you have spend down questions? If so the Capacity Building Consortium (CBC) can help!
CBC is a TTA project composed of members from the Alliance of Tribal Coalitions to End Violence (ATCEV), NIWRC and the National Network Against Domestic Violence (NNADV)
The project is awarded by FVPSA to assist and support State Administrators, State and Tribal Coalitions and Tribal Grantees.
A BRIEF REMINDER ABOUT WHAT WE DO FOR YOU
Contact us when you:
Have questions
Need help designing or planning a process
Want to run ideas by someone
Are unsure what next steps are
We are here to help you with:
RFP’s
Your role
State Planning
Operating Tribal Shelters
Understanding FVPSA Requirements
Non-profit Support
Voluntary Services
Monitoring
Joining a Tribal Consortium
Building Partnerships
Photo courtesy of Hawaiian Community Assets.
Hawaiian Community Assets (HCA) Launches Wellness Initiative to Combat Pandemic Fatigue
Hawaiian Community Assets' Financial Opportunity Centers offer services for every step of the way, from debt recovery and job placement to education and career advancement. Their counselors have the solutions to steer clients on the path toward homeownership and financial stability.
Project: Hawaiian Community Assets (HCA) is set to utilize their subaward for a project aimed at addressing the significant pandemic-related fatigue experienced by their dedicated staff. Over the past few years, HCA staff have tirelessly supported low- and moderate-income Native Hawaiian communities and others in Hawaii affected by COVID-19, housing insecurity, and gender-based violence. From 2020 to 2023, the HCA team provided emergency assistance statewide, including on Hawaii Island, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Oahu, and Kauai, to address rental, mortgage, and utility needs under stressful conditions.
Since the onset of the pandemic, housing security and stability have emerged as critical needs. HCA staff took on additional programs and met grant requirements beyond their usual scope, often with minimal staffing funding despite ample direct-to-client funds. The prolonged duration of the pandemic has exacerbated these issues, leading to heightened emotional and physical fatigue among HCA team members both professionally and personally. This increased workload pushed many staff members to the brink of burnout, making it more critical than ever to provide opportunities for healing, yet unfortunately, cultural healing practices are often inaccessible and costly for HCA staff.
To address the effects of prolonged stress and burnout, HCA is launching a restorative break in the form of a culturally specific wellness retreat on Maui. This retreat aims to rejuvenate staff through structured Native Hawaiian wellness activities and relaxation techniques, as well as professional development sessions that equip staff with Native Hawaiian strategies to manage stress and improve resilience. Additionally, HCA hopes to foster a sense of appreciation and recognition among the team, boosting morale and cohesion. The retreat will be a three-day event featuring cultural practitioner workshops focused on mental health and wellness, sessions led by consultants specializing in stress management, resilience training, and trauma-informed care, and group activities designed to strengthen bonds and improve team dynamics. By investing in the well-being of their staff, HCA aims to ensure that their team remains resilient and prepared to continue their essential work within the community.
Hidden in Plain Sight: The Intersection of Brain Injury, Strangulation, Gender-Based Violence, Housing Insecurity and Homelessness
Gender-based violence often involves physical violence targeted at the head, neck, and face—through blows to the head or strangulation. Though this has been common knowledge for decades, brain injuries caused by violence are unacknowledged, rarely identified and almost never immediately treated. Both survivors of violence and professionals that work with them have been largely unaware of brain injury as a significant consequence of violence. Brain injuries can cause physical, emotional, and cognitive consequences that can impact every area of a survivor’s life—including their ability to successfully access and participate in services, maintain employment, secure and sustain housing, and meet self-sufficiency goals. This webinar will introduce CARE (Connect, Acknowledge, Respond, Evaluate), Ohio’s evidence-based framework developed by the Ohio Domestic Violence Network and The Ohio State University. CARE is a brain injury aware, trauma-informed approach focusing on accessibility and accommodations with practical, hands-on, free tools, strategies, and resources to support your work.
“We are the Daughters of Warriors, Sisters of Survivors, and Mothers of the Resilient”
Photo of Norine Hill /Photo courtesy of Mother Nation.
Today we are lifting up the work of Norine Hill, Oneida Nation of the Thames, Executive Director/Founder, at Mother Nation in Seattle, WA as our Stellar STTAR. Norine recently hosted our Tribal Safe Housing Workgroup Meeting May 1-2. Norine Hill founded Native Women in Need in 2013 from a vision to support the success of Native Sisters by way of cultural prayer and Sisterhood during times of crisis. She has over 25 years of executive management experience building non-profits, cultural programs, networking, and collaboration with various Tribal entities while managing and building infrastructure. She is a survivor of multi-abuse trauma, homelessness, and alcoholism. Fifteen years alcohol free, she continues to create partnerships, collaborations and networking to ensure Native women have the support necessary to fulfill their goals.
Mother Nation was founded in 2013 by Norine Hill, with a mission to deliver social and cultural healing services for Native women that nurture, create stability, and inspire growth through sisterhood. A trauma survivor herself, Norine recognized that no Seattle-based organization at the time focused exclusively on the needs of Native women. Norine rallied the Elders in her community around a shared vision for Mother Nation, where the ultimate power of Native women is fully realized and underpins thriving Tribal communities.
Today Mother Nation is a Native American 501(c)(3) nonprofit that offers culturally informed healing services, advocacy, mentorship and homeless prevention in Washington State. We support Native and Indigenous women during times of transition from chronic homelessness and gender based violence to stable housing by providing counseling, connection to social services, sisterhood, community, and spiritual support. Our culturally informed healing services are designed and provided by credentialed Native American Elders who apply culture to clinical practice. We use traditional Native medicines including essential oils, prayer, stories, song, ceremony, art, kinship, humor, laughter, food, and earth-based teachings. By acknowledging the past and re-learning who we are as a Native people, Indigenous Sisters who participate in our programs transform their path to a journey of natural leadership and wisdom built on ancestral strength.
Mother Nation currently operates Spirit Journey house, a two year housing program that provides a culturally supportive space for Native women to reclaim their spirit and cultural Identity that many have hidden to survive. They are in the process of developing and opening Spirit Journey Village and while we were in Seattle we had the opportunity to tour the future site of the Spirit Journey Village.
Native American women experience disproportionately high rates of violence, including domestic violence, sexual assault, and trafficking and are the most likely to be missing or murdered. We experience the highest overdose death rates in the country and this crisis is on the rise as deadly fentanyl overdoses sweep through unsuspecting communities.
The origins of these problems are complex and include harmful federal policies and practices that go back generations. Addressing these barriers requires comprehensive efforts that center on community empowerment, cultural resilience, and meaningful engagement with Indigenous perspectives and priorities. Native women need wrap-around recovery services and cultural healing for themselves and their families in a trauma-informed Native-led setting.
Mother Nation is poised to significantly expand its successful recovery program into the Spirit Journey Village—increasing capacity over five-fold by bringing cutting edge clinical practice to traditional teachings and cultural healing services. With culture at the center of recovery-focused safe housing, women and families heal. Our Spirit Journey House is a transitional home for Native women who are experiencing the impacts of generational trauma and often find themselves homelessness and vulnerable with chemical dependency. Mother provides wrap around and custom-designed cultural services with over 22 workshops, weekly Talking Circles with a sweat onsite. Mother Nation is currently developing Spirit Journey Village in Skyway, WA. The project has site control and a Congressional Direct Spending award of $1.148 million toward total project costs of $10 million. Mother Nations’ Spirit Journey Village is the only program in the country providing cultural support, safe housing and wrap around services to Native Women surviving sexual assault and addiction. The project is endorsed by ATNI and supported by Washington First Nations and Tribes.
Announcements
NCAI Mid-Year Convention and Marketplace, in Cherokee, NC at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort (June 1-6).
The Office of Family violence Prevention and Services Annual Formula Grant Recipient Meeting (June 4-6) Virtual Via Zoom.
Stories Are Our Power: Heart-to-Heart Discussion and Lessons Learned with the U.S. Trans Survey Indigenous Outreach Team (June 26). Virtual Via Zoom.
2024 National Conference on Domestic Violence, Chicago, IL (September 24-27).
JA FY24 Smart Reentry: Housing Demonstration Program
With this solicitation, BJA seeks to fund state, local, and tribal governments to enhance or implement evidence-based activities or services to improve reentry and reduce recidivism by expanding and/or increasing access to housing for people who are currently or formerly involved in the criminal justice system. Prior to the release from incarceration, individuals will be screened, assessed, and identified for program participation. The program will help jurisdictions assess their reentry systems, identify strengths and gaps, and then build capacity for improved housing options for adults released from prison or jail.
This program furthers the DOJ’s mission to uphold the rule of law, to keep our country safe, and to protect civil rights. Click here for more information.
OVC FY24 Emergency and Transitional Pet Shelter and Housing Assistance Grant Program
With this solicitation, OVC seeks to provide funding for shelter and transitional housing and other assistance to victims of domestic violence and their companion animals, which under this program means pets, service animals, emotional support animals, and horses. Click here for more information.
Reach for the STTARS
Did you know? STTARS stands for Safety, Technical Assistance and Training, Resources, and Support. Our vision is Safe Housing For All Our Relatives.
Request Housing Training and Technical Assistance (T/TA) from STTARS Indigenous Safe Housing Center. STTARS provides culturally rooted training and technical assistance, policy development, and Indigenous-centered resource materials to support Tribes, Tribal housing authorities, and Tribal domestic violence programs and shelters to address the intersection of Gender-Based Violence and Housing Insecurity and Homelessness and create safe housing options for survivors. To request T/TA, please fill out the form located on our website at niwrc.org/housing/contact with as much detail as possible, and we will be in touch!
STTARS Indigenous Safe Housing Center is funded by grant #90EV0537 from the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Family, and Youth Services Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The contents of this newsletter are solely the responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Our mailing address is: NIWRC, Attn: STTARS Indigenous Safe Housing Center P.O. Box 99, Lame Deer, MT
Our company address and phone number is:
National Indigenous Women's Resource Center 515 Lame Deer Ave, Lame Deer, MT. 59043 406.477.3896
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