Funds to help city stop trafficking

The city of Atlanta has been selected to receive funding to develop and implement a firstof-its-kind citywide approach to prevent trafficking and address unmet needs of trafficking survivors as part of the Pathways to Freedom city competition. Twenty-four cities nationwide were eligible to participate in the competition.

Atlanta along with Chicago and Minneapolis were selected as winners. All three cities will receive funding for labor trafficking technical assistance and to support a senior fellow’s salary for two years. The fellow will work across city agencies and with a range of community stakeholders to develop coordinated, citywide solutions to trafficking.

The Pathways to Freedom city challenge is funded through the Partnership for Freedom, a public-private partnership created by Humanity United and dedicated to spurring innovation in the fight to end human trafficking. Pathways to Freedom, the Partnership’s third challenge, is led by Humanity United and the NoVo Foundation.

Despite growing awareness of human trafficking, gaps remain in preventing both labor and sex trafficking and supporting survivors to recover. Too often, public health, human services, labor enforcement, legal services, housing, immigration, and other systems fail to identify individuals at risk of trafficking and may not have services that adequately assist victims and survivors. As a result, trafficking survivors often cycle in and out of city systems without receiving the assistance they need. However, cities are well-positioned to close some of these gaps, and Atlanta will lead by example.

Information: pathwaystofreedom.org