On March 1998, five Deaf women from Rochester, New York, Beth Anne Metlay, Sharon C. Staehle, S. Martina Moore-Reid, Sharon Haynes, and Vicki T. Hurwitz, participated in a week-long intensive training program that was provided by Abused Deaf Women's Advocacy Services (ADWAS) the first internationally know Deaf-run agency in Seattle, Washington.

Marilyn J. Smith, founder and executive director of ADWAS, received a one-year grant from the Office from Victims of Crime under the U.S. Department of Justice that allowed her to share the ADWAS model with five cities around America. Rochester was chosen as one of the five cities for this project due to its readiness. The training covered issues of sexual assault, domestic violence, community organizing, and the nuts and bolts of setting up a program similar to ADWAS. The other cities were Austin, Texas; Boston, Massachusetts; Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota; and the San Francisco/Bay Area, California.

ADWAS trained people from 10 more cities over the next two years. Currently, ADWAS holds a biennial Justice for Deaf Victims National Coalition (JDVNC) of Deaf agencies.