Today, Congressman Jim Himes (CT-04) announced that the Partnership to End Human Trafficking (PEHT) will receive a $344,005 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office For Victims of Crimes. The grant will allow PEHT to partner with community organizations to improve the identification of trafficked individuals and to expand comprehensive services to human-trafficking victims.
“Far too often, workers are lured to the U.S. by the promise of well-paying jobs and a better future, only to be coerced into unbearable conditions, including domestic servitude or prostitution rings,” said Congressman Jim Himes. “It’s horrific that this happens anywhere in the country, let alone in our own backyard. I’m glad that PEHT is receiving the federal resources needed to address the atrocity of human trafficking in Fairfield County.”
“PEHT is so excited to have received this grant award from the Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crimes to build capacity and to provide comprehensive services for victims of human trafficking in the Fairfield County Region of Connecticut” said Jamie Manirakiza, PEHT’s Executive Director. “We are currently opening a home for survivors of sex trafficking in the region, and this grant comes at an opportune time to increase our efforts in identification and response for victims of human trafficking in the community. Through this OVC award, we will work to collaborate with existing community partners to make a greater impact in Fairfield County, as we seek to come alongside survivors of this horrific crime. Furthermore, we believe that our two-year trauma-informed and survivor informed transitional home for adult women survivors of trafficking, will fill in a gap in services in Fairfield County for this vulnerable population.”
PEHT will partner with Love146, another anti-human trafficking non-profit, The Salvation Army Bloom Initiative to develop capacity to strengthen anti-human trafficking services through the provision of culturally appropriate, trauma-informed, comprehensive, and survivor-informed services in collaboration with local partners, develop a training plan with partners to increase victim identification in the Fairfield county region through outreach activities and targeted trainings, develop a strong referral network of anti-human trafficking service providers (including law enforcement and new and existing non-profit partners) that will meet the essential needs of each individual survivor; and constantly improve our service delivery through data collection and evaluation. Click here to learn more about PEHT.
##