Trump Administration Slates $35M to Help Survivors of Human Trafficking

The Trump administration will issue more than $35 million in grants to provide safe housing to survivors of human trafficking.

The Justice Department was set to announce Tuesday that its Office for Victims of Crime will award the funds to 73 organizations across the nation to provide six to 24 months of transitional or short-term housing assistance for trafficking victims, a White House official said. 

The money can go toward rent, utilities, or related expenses such as security deposits and relocation costs. 

Attorney General William Barr and White House adviser Ivanka Trump, the president’s elder daughter, were to announce the grants at a 2 p.m. event Tuesday. 

“In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, combating human trafficking in the U.S. and abroad is critical work,” Trump said in a public statement, adding: 

DOJ’s grant recipients are on the front lines of this fight, ensuring that survivors across our country are afforded safe and stable housing and empowered with the support and resources they need to rebuild their lives. I am incredibly honored to join Attorney General Barr to highlight these organizations and their tireless and vital work.

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The federal grants also will go toward paying to help trafficking victims find permanent housing, secure employment, and receive occupational training and counseling.

Barr and Trump were set to be joined for a roundtable talk by Brooke Rollins, acting director of the Domestic Policy Council; Heather Fischer, the president’s special adviser in fighting domestic human trafficking; executives from organizations that combat trafficking; and trafficking survivors from across the country. 

Other participants were to include Hilda M. Fernandez, chief executive of Camillus House Inc.; Celia Thomas, chief operating officer of Alternatives for Girls; Tenisha Gant Watson, founder and president of Jordan Community Resource Center; Cheryl L. Cyrus, a human trafficking survivor representing that center; and Tanya Gould, another survivor who is a member of the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking.