SUNBURY – A grant from the US Justice Department Office of Violence against Women will help support law enforcement and prosecution of violent crimes in Snyder and Union Counties. Susan Mathias, CEO of Transitions, explains that they have received STOP grants for these two counties meant to encourage collaboration in solving the issues related to victims of crime against women. STOP stands for “Services, Training, Officers, Prosecution.”
Mathias said, “We applied for STOP grants for all three of our counties, Union, Snyder and Northumberland Counties, but we were only successful with Union and Snyder. We have had one with Snyder County for over 15 years and it’s been a great experience for us with Snyder County. We also have one that we just received for Union County and we’ve already formed the team, so we’re getting ready to roll with that.”
Snyder County District Attorney Mike Piecuch said the grant funding has been very helpful, “It is working and it makes a tremendous difference in being able to assist victims of sexual assault. Partnering with Evangelical Community Hospital is really critical because sexual assault cases are some of the toughest ones that prosecutors have to deal with. There is still a reluctance within society to believe women when they say that they have been assaulted, and so having forensic evidence is a real critical part of prosecutions, if we can get it.”
The grants total $750,000 over the next three years. Mathias and Snyder County District Attorney Mike Piecuch were guests on WKOK’s On The Mark program talking about how the grants are helping women in Snyder and Union Counties. You can listen online at www.wkok.com. (Ali Stevens)