New Organization Launched in Kansas City to Help LGBT Victims of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault

Written by Doug Riley

Monday, 23 June 2003

Kansas City, MO (June 23, 2003) – The Kansas City Anti-Violence Project (KCAVP), a new nonprofit corporation dedicated to ending physical, emotional and sexual abuse in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, is celebrating its official launch with a kickoff party at the Society For Contemporary Photography on June 26, 2003 from 5:30-8:00 p.m.

Domestic violence and sexual assault crimes are prevalent in the LGBT community, and they are slowly becoming more visible in the Kansas City area, but there has been a gap in services available to those affected by these crimes. Now, the gap for LGBT victims of domestic violence and sexual assault is narrowing thanks to KCAVP.

The mission of KCAVP is to provide services including information, support, referrals and advocacy to LGBT survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in the metropolitan Kansas City area. KCAVP also educates the community at large through training and outreach programs.

In late 2002, KCAVP began as a same sex domestic violence assistance effort sponsored by the Lesbian and Gay Community Center of Kansas City (LGCC-KC). After research revealed that victims of domestic violence and sexual assault within the LGBT community had few, if any, dedicated resources to help them cope with these crimes, KCAVP was formalized as an independent program earlier this year.



“We are truly excited about the launch,” says Jamie Rich, Director of LGCC-KC. “At the Community Center, we have a first-hand understanding of how vitally needed KCAVP’s services are because we see how many people are directly affected by these crimes. The idea was to build a network of services rather than create a monolithic organization. Now we have KCAVP, which represents the best way our community can respond to domestic violence and sexual assault in a timely, coordinated way,” Rich says.

Doug Riley, Executive Director of KCAVP, explains what motivated him to begin the project. “In the past, if a man or transgender person called a mainstream domestic violence services organization, that person would be referred to a homeless shelter or to the county mental health department. In addition, although lesbian and bisexual women could enter shelters, these mainstream facilities were not always the most helpful environments for them.”

Riley continues, “I knew people in the LGBT community who had been killed as a result of domestic violence that escalated out of control. I also had friends who, as survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault crimes, were frustrated and overwhelmed by the lack of services available to help address their specific needs, and were looking for a sense of support and safety during their times of crisis. The clear need in the community really pointed the way and created the momentum for KCAVP.”

In January 2003, KCAVP sponsored a forum to gain information from those people in the community who interact with those affected by same sex domestic violence and sexual assault. Thirty people attended the forum, and the attendees represented different areas of the community including mainstream domestic violence and sexual assault providers, state domestic violence coalitions, therapists, clergy, youth groups, AIDS service organizations, and hospitals. “This forum was a good example of the need to collaborate with and educate the community in a coordinated way,” says Riley. “Each participating organization realized that we all play an important role to help victims cope and, ultimately, to break the cycle of domestic violence and sexual assault.”

Following the forum, KCAVP members have continued to research existing services and build relationships with other community leaders. KCAVP has facilitated speaking engagements about same sex domestic violence for different audiences in the Kansas City area. And they have recently joined the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP), a coalition of over 25 LGBT victim advocacy and documentation programs located across the United States and Canada. As a member of NCAVP, KCAVP will work with other organizations to create a coordinated response to these violent crimes, including contributing Kansas City area statistics to the NCAVP annual domestic violence report.

New services will be introduced as the year progresses. Important additions will be a crisis line and emergency assistance including housing for people in crisis. KCAVP will also provide victims with referrals to other service providers in the area, limited court advocacy, and continued community education and training. Riley adds, “The official launch of KCAVP is an important milestone, but the project is still in the building stages. We are committed to providing increased services and outreach as soon as possible. For instance, we plan to launch KCAVP’s crisis line in the third quarter of 2003.”

Funding for these services currently comes from private sources. “We have been really blessed to receive donations from the LGBT group at Unity Temple on the Plaza and the Lesbian and Gay Community Center,” says Riley. “We are submitting our paperwork to obtain tax-exempt status from the IRS. When that designation is issued, we will apply for grants from both state government and charitable foundations. We also have been working with GayCoffees.com and they have developed the Purple Ribbon Roast specifically for LGBT domestic violence. KCAVP receives forty percent from the coffee sales.“ Riley adds, “Our ability to provide these much-needed services in the future hinges upon the financial support and continued generosity of the Kansas City community.”