Survivors Empowerment and Access in Louisiana (SEAL) Project Talking Points 

 

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Who: A collaborative project of the Advocacy Center, Louisiana’s protection and 
advocacy agency for people with disabilities and the Louisiana Foundation 
Against Sexual Assault (LaFASA), Louisiana’s statewide coalition of sexual assault 
programs, with funding from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence 
Against Women, and technical assistance from the Vera Institute of Justice. 


 

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What: A three-year project to effect viable, sustainable, systemic changes in the 
sexual assault and disability services systems to ensure that all survivors with 
disabilities and D/deaf survivors living in Louisiana will be able to access 
appropriate and responsive services. 


 

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When: Three-year project which began on October 1, 2008. There is an initial 
planning period followed by implementation. 


 

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Where: Several local communities in Louisiana, to be selected through an 
intensive selection process that will take place during the planning phases of the 
project. 


 

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Why: Currently the disability and sexual assault service delivery systems are not 
fully accessible, responsive, and welcoming to the needs of survivors with 
disabilities and D/deaf survivors. 


 

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How: Our work together during this grant program has two phases - (1) Planning 
and Development and (2) Implementation. During the Planning and 
Development phase, the collaborative partners will work together to develop the 
following processes: strengthening the collaboration, determining where we will 
work in the state, identifying the needs in terms of serving survivors with 
disabilities, and creating a plan to address those needs. Our Plan will map out 
the activities our agencies and our pilot sites will use to improve the disability 
and sexual assault service delivery systems in Louisiana during our 
Implementation phase. The activities include fostering collaboration at the local 
level, changing organizational policies and practices, and creating accessible, 
responsive, and welcoming environments for survivors with disabilities and 
D/deaf survivors.