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For Immediate Release
Thursday, November 3, 2022 |
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Director Jackson Announces Recipients of Anti-Human Trafficking Grant
BALTIMORE, MD (Thursday, November 3, 2022) -- Today, Director Jackson of the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement announced the recipients of the 2023 Anti-Human Trafficking Grant. Eight grants totaling $300,000 were awarded to community-based institutions that support comprehensive trauma-informed services for victims of human trafficking, sex trafficking, and/or labor trafficking, including LGBTQ survivors.
Mercy Medical Center, Araminta Freedom Initiative, the Salvation Army, and City of Refuge Baltimore will each receive one-time $50,000 awards. HER Resiliency Center, Drink at the Well, Lead4Life Inc., and Intercultural Counseling Connection will each receive one-time $25,000 award.
“Human Trafficking is a heinous crime that continues to affect the City of Baltimore and MONSE is proud to offer this monetary support to our partners in this work,” said Thomas Stack, Anti-Human Trafficking and Sexual Assault Response Team Manager. “MONSE, in collaboration with the Baltimore City Human Trafficking Collaborative, continues to work tirelessly to serve survivors of human trafficking and uplift the organizations working to help restore lives."
Convened in 2017, the Baltimore City Human Trafficking Collaborative (BCHTC) is a diverse group of Stakeholders working in a collaborative effort to combat both sex and labor trafficking in the City of Baltimore by raising awareness through education, law enforcement training, and media campaigns; supporting both State and federal investigations and prosecutions of traffickers; and supporting human trafficking survivors by providing them access to quality services through a victim-centered, trauma-informed approach. Baltimore ranks 14th in the nation in calls per capita received by the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
The Collaborative is comprised of stakeholders from the Mayor’s Office, City Council members, law enforcement, prosecutors, public defenders, judiciary, city and state agencies, health care providers, victim service providers, and more. The Collaborative operates under the umbrella of the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force which was started in 2007.
In January 2022, under Mayor Scott’s direction, MONSE established a dedicated Victim Services lane, a first for City government. Working in close coordination with the Baltimore Police Department and Baltimore City State Attorney’s Office units dedicated to victim services, MONSE’s Victim Services lane intentionally fills the gaps that exist in serving victims and survivors who have not been traditionally served at the local level before.
“MONSE is taking on work to cultivate a dedicated victim services lane that expands and optimizes pre-existing services including human trafficking, sex trafficking, and/or labor trafficking,” said Director Shantay Jackson of the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement. “We are proud to award these dollars to service providers who ensure that those experiencing victimization receive support and resources as needed and requested.”
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