Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards $1 Million to Five Organizations to
Address Human Trafficking
BOSTON (May 10, 2024) – The Healey-Driscoll
Administration has awarded $1 million to five organizations to support programs
aimed at increasing awareness of human trafficking in Massachusetts and
providing outreach and services to those most at risk for being victimized, and
people who have experienced trafficking.
Chosen by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health
in consultation with the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, the
organizations will implement strategies to raise public awareness about sex
trafficking and labor trafficking in Massachusetts, how to recognize a
trafficking situation, and how to respond appropriately. The organizations will
also focus on connecting with groups at highest risk for trafficking and
providing trauma-informed services to survivors.
Each organization will receive a one-time $200,000 grant,
effective from July 2024 through December 2026, to support programs and
services with demonstrated commitment to racial equity and informed or led by
trafficking survivors. The funded organizations are: Children’s Advocacy Center
of Suffolk County; RFK Community Alliance’s Legacy Mentoring program; Justice
Resource Institute’s My Life My Choice program; RIA Inc.; and the Vietnamese
American Civic Association, Inc.
“Human trafficking has a profound and long-lasting impact
on those individuals and communities that are often targeted in these crimes of
exploitation,” said Governor Maura Healey. “Combatting human trafficking
is a priority of our administration, and this funding builds on our efforts to
raise public awareness and to invest in programs that support survivors.”
“Whether behind closed doors or in plain sight, human
trafficking is pervasive,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll, who
chairs the Governor’s Council to Address Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, and
Human Trafficking. “Investing in community-based organizations that provide a
wide range of services to support survivors, identify victims, and educate the
public will strengthen our efforts to combat human trafficking throughout
Massachusetts.”
In Massachusetts, the impact of human trafficking has
been concentrated on communities and populations that experience a higher
burden related to structural racism and economic and social inequities.
Traffickers commonly prey on individuals who have low or no income;
undocumented immigrants; unaccompanied immigrant children and youth; people of
color; homeless and runaway youth; people with limited English proficiency;
people with disabilities; members of the LGBTQ+ community; people with
substance use disorder; and children and youth who have been involved in the
child welfare and/or juvenile justice systems.
“The stigma faced by victims of trafficking, especially
sex trafficking, can play a significant role in whether they seek help and how
well they can recover from the trauma they have experienced,” said
Secretary of Health and Human Services Kate Walsh. “By focusing approaches on
groups at higher risk of trafficking and helping connect them with
appropriately tailored resources, these community-based supports will
strengthen the short- and long-term health and well-being of survivors.”
“Across the nation and here in Massachusetts, human
trafficking continues to be a serious public health issue that
disproportionately impacts our most vulnerable populations, including those
living in poverty, children, and undocumented immigrants,” said Robbie
Goldstein, MD, PhD, Commissioner of the Department of Public Health. “Human
trafficking is a profound violation of the most basic human rights, steeped in
violence and coercion that pushes people into an oppressed existence. Public
health can – and must – play a key role in identifying and addressing this
complicated and multidimensional problem.”
“This grant funding supports the crucial work of
community service providers in aiding survivors as they heal and rebuild their
lives,” stated Secretary of Public Safety and Security Terrence Reidy.
“Forming strong partnerships is key to combating this heinous crime and
ensuring everyone’s right to live with dignity, respect, and without fear of
abuse.”
In Massachusetts, sharing a border with five states and
only a short drive to an international border is conducive for organized
trafficking rings that move their victims frequently. Some industries that can
lead to trafficking include construction, food, gaming, and commercial fishing.
For some immigrants, a combination of factors can make them especially
vulnerable to trafficking, including low or no English proficiency, low or no
income, inability to work legally, and a lack of familiarity with public systems
and benefits.
Data around the prevalence of sex and labor trafficking
are known to be unreliable, as they depend on victims overcoming a climate of
fear and self-identifying or being identified and assisted by someone in health
care, law enforcement, or social services. One barometer is the National Human
Trafficking Hotline, (888) 373-7888. In 2021, the hotline received 339 reports from Massachusetts,
134 of which were from victims or survivors of human trafficking and resulting
in the identification of 93 cases involving a total of 143 victims. Seventy-two
of those cases involved sex trafficking.
Funding for this grant program was authorized by Chapter
268 of the Acts of 2022.
Last year, the Healey-Driscoll
administration expanded the scope of what was formerly known as the
Governor’s Council to Address Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence to include
human trafficking, given the severity and prevalence of the crime in
Massachusetts. The council is now called the Governor’s Council to Address
Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, and Human Trafficking.
