DVSA Communities Awarded Multi-Year Grant to Help Bring Culturally-Specific Domestic Violence Awareness Training and Programs to Underserved Aurora Women

Aurora Women’s Empowerment Foundation Makes Grant Possible

Erika Castillo, Executive Director/Founder, DVSA Communities

AURORA, IL, USA. November 2, 2023. The Aurora Women’s Empowerment Foundation—an organization which seeks to reimagine female empowerment through supporting programs offered by Aurora-area nonprofits—announced it has awarded DVSA Communities (DVSA) a grant to help fund its Community Navigator and Support Group program in Aurora. DVSA’s program is for underserved Latino women who are suffering from domestic violence and/or sexual abuse.

Erika Castillo, Executive Director/Founder, DVSA Communities

The DVSA Communities mission is to empower lives and help build communities free of domestic violence and sexual abuse by providing advocacy, education, and support groups to connect victims with community resources.  DVSA also provides crisis intervention while victims are waiting for counseling services. DVSA team members assess the needs of women and families experiencing domestic violence or abuse, helping them to become informed, find protection, and ultimately, live without fear.

“We learned about DVSA Communities’ work through two of our grantees—Document The Abuse and FLAP (Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project)—and it became clear that by collaborating with one another they amplified their collective programs’ reach and impact,” said Amy Baudouin, Board Chair, Aurora Women’s Empowerment Foundation.  “We value collaboration and are honored to be in a position to help DVSA meet Aurora’s growing need with a grant that will allow them to further expand their Community Navigator program, ultimately bringing their life-saving services to even more Aurora women.”

DVSA Communities was founded in 2019 by Erika Castillo, a 5^th-generation survivor of domestic violence and sexual assault. Erika has extensive professional experience serving domestic and sexual violence victims as a family court advocate and crisis intervention advocate for survivors living in shelters. A trained paralegal, she has assisted survivors with parentage cases, orders of protections, and divorce cases. She also provided criminal advocacy for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. She currently leads a growing team of dedicated professionals with plans for additional growth to meet the needs of Latino women in Aurora.

“With the funding we received from the Aurora Women’s Empowerment Foundation we are able to expand our Community Navigator program, including training more navigators and offering them a 24-Hour Hotline to support them in their work,” said Erika Castillo, Executive Director and Founder at DVSA Communities. “In addition to receiving extensive training, the Community Navigators have immediate access to the hotline support team, helping navigators to better understand and more effectively work through the many barriers that victims and survivors might experience when accessing domestic violence and sexual assault services.”

An important area of focus for DVSA Communities is to have Community Navigators work closely with Aurora community leaders.  Said Erika, “Many victims of abuse approach community leaders to seek help for other services such as food, shelter, rental assistance, legal assistance, immigration services, and health care. We want to work with community leaders interested in learning more about domestic violence services, including how to address gender-based violence in a way that is culturally related to the Latino community.”

The support group is another crucial DVSA program component. Support group leaders provide crisis intervention as needed, safety planning, short-term crisis intervention, risk assessment, information, referrals, advocacy to ensure that the victims of domestic abuse are aware of services, as well as their legal rights under the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986.

Support group meetings in Aurora are held from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm every Monday. DVSA has plans to soon add another three hours per week with another support group on Thursdays from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. All clients are served in Aurora. If a survivor comes to DVSA from other counties or cities, once their needs are identified, they are referred to appropriate agencies, police departments, and court houses for services closer to their homes.

To learn more about DVSA Communities services or to sign up for a support group, please call 630-999-9029.