Department of Justice awards $300,000 grant to Counseling and Wellness Services

A $300,000 grant awarded to UNC has the potential to improve University response to issues of interpersonal violence.

Last week, UNC’s Counseling and Wellness Services received the Grant to Reduce Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking on Campus Program from the U.S. Department of Justice.

About 25 of these grants were awarded to campuses nationwide. This is the second year UNC applied for the grant but the first year it was successful.

Dean of Students Jonathan Sauls said the grant will be of tremendous value to UNC.

“It’s always good when you have the resources to responsibly address an issue,” Sauls said.

Bob Pleasants, UNC’s interpersonal violence prevention coordinator, applied for the grant with the intent of providing a more centralized resource for survivors of interpersonal violence.

Pleasants said while Counseling and Wellness offers many resources for interpersonal violence survivors, this grant will enable them to do more.

About half of the grant money will go towards hiring additional personnel, and most will be used towards hiring an interpersonal violence response coordinator.

University administrators are hoping to find someone who is attuned to students’ needs.

Pleasants said he hopes the University will fund the response coordinator’s position after the grant expires.

“That will be a challenge as we move forward, but my hope is that we will establish through the success of these programs the need for services,” Pleasants said.

In order to be considered for the grant, UNC had to draft a plan to create both a coordinated community response to violence against women and a mandatory education program for incoming students.

UNC also had to plan further training programs for campus police officers and campus disciplinary boards.

In the spring, the University revamped its policy for addressing cases of sexual assault, stripping the student-run honor system’s jurisdiction over cases. Pleasants said the grant money will be used to better adapt the University to the new policy.

Chip Slade, line officer at the Raleigh Police Department, said he believes sexual assault to be the most pressing issue affecting college campuses.

“Sexual assault is, statistically speaking and in my experience, not a crazed escaped lunatic jumping out of a bush on the way home,” Slade said.

“It’s much more your roommate’s brother, or someone’s friend who came with them to a party.”

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