PHOENIX — Seven days a week, 365 days a year, the StrongHearts Native Helpline provides care and services for Indigenous people experiencing domestic violence. On September 24, it earned the title of National Indigenous Domestic Violence Hotline with new direct funding from the federal government.

The StrongHearts line was first established in 2017. The National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center and the National Domestic Violence Hotline collaborated on its creation after identifying a service gap for Indigenous callers.

“I don’t think that people fully understand how challenging it is for us to seek service,” said Memory Dawn Long Chase, domestic violence response director at the Southwest Indigenous Women’s Coalition. “People have heard of missing and murdered Indigenous people, but I don’t know that people that haven’t lived it or do this work fully understand how pervasive the barriers are.”

The coalition already refers people to the line — Long Chase noted she had the number memorized because “you never know when somebody’s going to need that number.”

The grant for StrongHearts was announced just ahead of Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October. It’s just one part of the recent push and advocacy for domestic violence and missing and murdered cases in Indigenous communities.

Indigenous communities experience high rates of violence. More than 50% of Native American and Alaska Native women have been victims of sexual violence, according to the Department of Justice. Additionally, 84% of Indigenous women and 82% of Indigenous men have experienced violence at some point in their lifetime.

American Indian and Alaska Native women are 1.7 times more likely to experience violence compared to their white counterparts, according to the National Congress of American Indians.

Long Chase is especially close to the fight for missing and murdered Indigenous women and violence against Indigenous people. Her older sister, Lori Long Chase, went missing in 1983 at the age of 17. A body was found roughly a month after Lori, a member of the San Carlos Apache Reservation, went missing. The remains remained unidentified until 2024, when it was finally named as Lori’s body, 41 years after she disappeared.

Long Chase and the Southwest Indigenous Women’s Coalition work with Indigenous communities to better respond to violence through education and advocacy. A culturally specific hotline better aids the needs of Indigenous communities across the nation, and the direct funding provides the opportunity for further improved care, she said.

“Having that direct relationship is really important so that we have that streamlined communication,” said Rachel Carr-Shunk, deputy executive officer of StrongHearts Native Helpline.

Streamlined communication with the Administration for Children and Families could improve practices because StrongHearts can now directly communicate the needs of callers, Carr-Shunk said.

The $15 million, five-year grant to StrongHearts comes from the ACF, the second-largest agency in the Department of Health and Human Services.

StrongHearts previously operated as a subgrantee of the National Domestic Violence Hotline. The line received discretionary funds from the Family and Youth Services Bureau, which it allocated to StrongHearts.

The National Indigenous Domestic Violence Hotline takes calls from anyone, regardless of whether the caller is Indigenous. The advocates who answer the phones direct callers to services in or near their community.

Advocates for StrongHearts work remotely, though the organization’s headquarters are near Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, on the ancestral lands of the Sioux Santee Wahpekute people.

In May, Arizona passed the Turquoise Alert, also known as Emily’s Law. It is named for Emily Pike, a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe who went missing in January. Her remains were found February 14 in garbage bags along an Arizona highway. Her murder remains unsolved.

The Turquoise Alert went into effect in July 2025.

Arizona Rep. Brian Garcia (D-Tempe) co-sponsored the bill for the Turquoise Alert. He said he was pleased with the announcement of StrongHeart’s new funding and culturally specific services for Indigenous communities.

“My hope would be that any program and funding that impacts Native people, right, is always centered around the impact of Native people that it’s intended to serve, irrespective of where the funding is coming from,” he said.

But more needs to be done at the state level, Garcia said. He said Arizona could do more to provide what the federal government can’t, such as eviction support, additional funding to tribes and programs, and legal services. But that’s easier said than done.

“There obviously isn’t enough money in the state budget, and now with the federal cuts coming, it’s pretty difficult to try and find that financial piece of support to be able to fund the gaps that tribes are in need of,” he said.

StrongHearts Native Helpline is a 24/7 safe, confidential and anonymous domestic and sexual violence helpline for Native Americans and Alaska Natives, offering support and advocacy. 💜🐢

📞 Call, text, or chat with us 24/7!https://t.co/6NAfra9Vhb
1-844-7NATIVE (762-8483) pic.twitter.com/1ehiuLW2S3

— strongheartsdv (@strongheartsdv) October 19, 2025

Carr-Shunk said the federal government shutdown has not had an effect on the grant, but she’s not sure if it could in the future. And at the end of the five years, StrongHearts will be left with a “what-if” on the renewal of their funding, though Carr-Shunk is hopeful.

“I certainly hope that this, this level of commitment, this five years, continues beyond five years,” she said. “Because we know that the need is so significant.”

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, visit StrongHearts Native Helpline – 844-7NATIVE (762-8483) and online at strongheartshelpline.org, available 24/7.

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Note: This story originally appeared on Cronkite News. It is published via a Creative Commons license. Cronkite News is produced by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

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