GROTON — Alternative House has received a three-year grant to expand its partnership with the Groton Police Department and improve access to domestic violence prevention, education and survivor services in the community.
According to Maria Crooker-Capone, the executive director of Alternative House, the funding was awarded through the Greater Lowell Community Foundation’s Nashoba Valley Community Healthcare Fund and will support Alternative House’s Increasing Access to Domestic Violence in Rural Communities initiative.
Alternative House and the Groton Police Department established their partnership through a Memorandum of Understanding in 2022. The partnership was created to strengthen domestic violence training and resources for law enforcement while improving survivors’ and families’ connections to services in Groton, Crooker-Capone said.
“Since signing our first MOU with the Groton Police Department in 2022, this partnership has flourished into something we are incredibly proud of,” Crooker-Capone said. “Groton Police have demonstrated a genuine commitment to understanding domestic violence, strengthening their response and ensuring survivors know that help is available.”
Crooker-Capone said the grant will allow the organizations to continue training and supporting officers while bringing education, outreach and direct connections to services further into the Groton community.
“Strong partnerships like this allow us to reach survivors who may otherwise feel isolated from help,” Crooker-Capone said.
Over the three-year grant period, Alternative House and the Groton Police Department plan to expand their coordinated response to domestic violence through law enforcement training, prevention education, community engagement and increased access to survivor services.
Training for Groton police officers will cover trauma-informed and survivor-centered responses, high-risk domestic violence, lethality assessments, coercive control, strangulation and homicide prevention.
The organizations will also strengthen referral procedures so police can connect survivors more quickly with safety planning, crisis intervention, legal advocacy, housing assistance, emotional support and Alternative House’s 24-hour services.
Community education and workshops will address domestic violence awareness, available resources and barriers to seeking help. Prevention programs will focus on healthy relationships, warning signs, consent and teen dating violence.
Alternative House also plans to increase its presence at community events in Groton and distribute accessible and culturally responsive domestic violence resources./
“Strong partnerships are essential to effectively address domestic violence in our community,” Groton Deputy Police Chief Rachael Mead said. “Our work with Alternative House has helped strengthen our officers’ training and, equally important, our ability to connect survivors and families with appropriate resources and support.”
Deputy Chief Mead said the grant will allow the department and Alternative House to build upon their partnership and continue improving how domestic violence is addressed and prevented in Groton.
“GLCF [Greater Lowell Community Foundation] is proud to support Alternative House as they bring life-saving resources closer to home for Groton residents,” Greater Lowell Community Foundation Vice President of Marketing, Programs and Strategy Jennifer Aradhya said. “Investing in partnerships like this one—between a trusted service provider and local law enforcement—is how we build lasting safety and support in every corner of our region.”
Throughout the grant period, Alternative House will track participation in law enforcement and community training, outreach engagement, referrals, the number of survivors connected with services and other measures of the partnership’s impact.
“This is about making sure that where someone lives does not determine whether they can access safety and support,” Crooker-Capone said. “Survivors in rural and suburban communities can face unique barriers to accessing domestic violence services. By bringing resources directly into communities like Groton and working alongside trusted local partners, we can help close those gaps.”
Founded in 1978, Alternative House provides domestic violence services to survivors and their children throughout Greater Lowell and surrounding communities. Its services include emergency shelter, a 24-hour crisis hotline, community-based and legal advocacy, housing assistance, supervised visitation and safe exchange, youth and family programs, prevention education and other support services.
