H.O.P.E. Incorporated, a St. Croix nonprofit that provides culturally specific services to survivors of domestic and sexual violence, has received a $200,000 federal award for a new initiative designed to support survivors across the U.S. Virgin Islands through safety, healing, family stability and economic empowerment.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' grant database shows that the Administration for Children and Families issued the award on Sept. 24 to Helping Ordinary People Everyday, Incorporated. The project, titled “H.O.P.E. Culturally Rooted Pathways to Safety, Healing & Economic Empowerment,” is described by federal officials as a culturally grounded initiative for domestic violence and sexual assault survivors throughout the territory. The federal record lists the project period as beginning Sept. 30, 2026 and ending Sept. 29, 2030.
According to HHS, the initiative is intended to support survivors' safety, healing and emotional well-being while improving access to culturally responsive services. Federal officials say the program is also designed to strengthen family stability, support non-abusive parents and caregivers in creating safe environments for children, encourage partnerships among organizations responding to survivors' needs, and increase access to evidence-informed interventions for individuals and families affected by violence.
The award was made through HHS's Culturally Specific Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services program. The 2026 funding opportunity provided $5 million nationally and anticipated 25 cooperative agreements, with each award set at $200,000 for the first budget period. The federal program does not require recipients to provide matching funds.
Although HHS lists H.O.P.E.'s overall project period through September 2030, the federal notice makes an important distinction about the funding. The $200,000 currently recorded is the award for the first budget period, while the broader program was designed around a four-year project period consisting of four one-year budget periods. HHS states that support beyond the first year depends on future congressional appropriations, satisfactory progress toward project objectives and a federal determination that continued funding remains in the government's interest.
The federal framework calls for recipients to begin with a six- to 12-month planning and development phase, which can include hiring staff, conducting needs assessments, developing partnerships and designing services. A subsequent implementation phase can support direct survivor services delivered in person or virtually, along with safe-housing assistance, advocacy, case management, crisis intervention and referrals.
Other activities permitted under the federal program include legal and medical advocacy; housing and transportation assistance; child care and parenting support; job training and employment assistance; financial literacy and economic-empowerment services; counseling; telehealth; mobile advocacy; and peer support. Those are services authorized under the broader federal grant program and do not necessarily mean H.O.P.E. will implement every activity listed.
H.O.P.E., which stands for Helping Ordinary People Everyday, describes itself as the nonprofit branch of Girlfriendism and says its work focuses on providing culturally specific services to survivors of sexual and domestic violence. Its website identifies Dr. Khnuma Simmonds as the organization's founding executive director. H.O.P.E. has previously used grant-supported programming for survivor healing and empowerment, including its H.O.P.E. Survivor Project.
The new award is part of a federal program administered under the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act. HHS says the initiative is intended to increase culturally specific, community-based and non-residential services for survivors of domestic, dating, family and sexual violence while supporting approaches tailored to the communities being served.
