EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL??????????? ??????????? ??????????? ??????????? ??????????? ??????????? ??????????? ??????????? OVC
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2003 at 9:30 a.m.??????????? ??????????? ??????????? ??????????? ??????????? ??????????? ??????????? 202/307-0703
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT GRANTS TO HELP VICTIMS OF
TRAFFICKING
WASHINGTON, DC ? The Justice Department announced a nationwide federal
effort to help victims of human trafficking.
The Office of Justice Programs? (OJP) Office for Victims of Crime (OVC)
recently awarded 12 grants totaling more than $9.5 million under the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act Grant Program.
? An estimated 50,000 women and
children are trafficked into the United States from other countries each
year.? Most of these victims are forced
into the sex trade.??
?Trafficking victims are often poor and disadvantaged, and do not have
access to traditional forms of assistance,? said OVC Director John W.
Gillis.? ?We will work with our grantees
to ensure that these victims are no longer ignored and receive the help they
need.?
Trafficking victims may also be forced into domestic servitude,
prison-type factory labor or migrant agricultural work.?
Eight of the grants will support comprehensive services to trafficking
victims in a specific state or region.
These services will include:
?
emergency
medical attention;
?
food and
shelter;
?
vocational and
English language training;
?
mental health
counseling; and
?
legal support.
The grantees will also educate local victim service providers on the
needs of trafficking victims and develop training materials that can be used
nationally.?
Three of the grants will support specialized services to trafficking
victims in larger multi-state areas.
The Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights will provide
legal and social services to trafficking victims in eight Midwestern
states.? The Massachusetts Mental Health
Institute Trauma Center will offer psychological assessments and crisis
treatment to victims in 15 East Coast states and the District of Columbia.? The Salvation Army will establish at least
29 programs nationwide to house and support sex trafficking victims.
OVC also awarded a grant to Safe Horizon, Inc., which will develop and
deliver training and technical assistance to the other grantees.? Last year OJP?s National Institute of
Justice, with funding from OVC, awarded a grant to Caliber Associates to
conduct an evaluation of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act Grant Program.
A list of the grantees is attached.
More information on the Trafficking Victims Protection Act Grant
Program, as well as information about other OVC programs, publications and
conferences, are available through the OJP Website at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc
and from the OVC Resource Center at 1-800/627-6872.
Media should contact OJP?s Office of Communications at
202/307-0703.?
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# #
OVC 03020????
?? TRAFFICKING
VICTIMS PROTECTION ACT GRANT PROGRAM
Comprehensive
Services
|
STATE |
CITY |
GRANTEE |
AMOUNT |
CONTACT |
PHONE NUMBER |
|
California |
Los Angeles |
Little Tokyo Service Center |
$
583,697 |
Deborah Ching |
213/637-5692 |
|
California |
San Francisco |
Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach |
$
532,230 |
Dean Ito Taylor |
415/567-6255 |
|
Illinois |
Chicago |
Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and
Human Rights |
$
673,568 |
Joseph Antolin |
312/660-1341 |
|
New York* |
New York |
International Rescue Committee |
$
935,285 |
Jane Kim |
212/551-2724 |
|
New York** |
New York |
International Rescue Committee |
$1,731,660 |
Jane Kim |
212/551-2724 |
|
Texas |
Dallas |
East Dallas Counseling Center, Inc. |
$
799,586 |
Dr. Walter H. Nguyen |
214/821-5393 |
|
Texas |
Houston |
YMCA International Services |
$
529,927 |
Jeff Watkins |
713/339-9015 |
|
Virginia |
Falls Church |
Boat People, S.O.S. |
$1,896,535 |
Nguyen Dinh Thang |
703/538-2190 |
*Grantee will use funds to provide services for trafficking victims in
Arizona.
**Grantee will use funds to provide services for trafficking victims in
Florida.
?? TRAFFICKING
VICTIMS PROTECTION ACT GRANT PROGRAM
Supplemental/Specialized
Services
|
STATE |
CITY |
GRANTEE |
AMOUNT |
CONTACT |
PHONE NUMBER |
|
Illinois |
Chicago |
Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and
Human Rights |
$ 490,829 |
Joseph Antolin |
312/660-1341 |
|
Massachusetts |
Boston |
Massachusetts Mental Health Institute
Trauma Center |
$ 859,987 |
Jose Hidalgo |
617/413-1552 |
|
Virginia |
Alexandria |
Salvation Army National Corporation |
$ 282,846 |
Lisa Thompson |
703/519-5896 |
? Training
and Technical Assistance
|
New York |
New York |
Safe Horizon, Inc. |
$
200,000 |
Nancy Arnow |
212/577-3898 |
? TOTAL??????????? ??????????? ????????? $9,516,150??????????? ??????????? ???????????