Vermont awarded $1.2 million grant to combat human trafficking

COURTESY
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont, the Office of the Attorney General for the State of Vermont, the Vermont Department of Public Safety, and Vermont Center for Crime Victim Services announced today that the Vermont State Police (VSP) and the Vermont Center for Crime Victim Services (CCVS) have received a $1.2 million grant to combat human trafficking. 

This U.S. Department of Justice grant, which was awarded Sept. 27, will allow VSP and CCVS to work collaboratively with the Vermont Human Trafficking Task Force (VT HTTF) to eradicate the exploitation of human beings for labor and commercial sex. With this grant, Vermont will initiate a statewide approach in the fight against this violation of basic human rights. This grant is designed to support the delivery of comprehensive and specialized services for all victims of human trafficking and the investigation and prosecution of sex and labor trafficking cases. CCVS and VSP will develop and fund at least three new positions entirely dedicated to promoting victim-centered and trauma-informed investigations and comprehensive service delivery. 

The $1.2 million grant covers a three-year period that began Oct. 1. Since 2013, under the leadership of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Vermont Attorney General’s Office, the VT HTTF has worked to facilitate a collaborative effort to eliminate and prevent the trafficking of persons within the State of Vermont; to pursue prosecution of perpetrators; and to protect, rehabilitate, and empower survivors of human trafficking. 

Human trafficking is a crime that causes deep and lasting trauma to even the strongest of its survivors. Human trafficking is the act of compelling a person by force, fraud, or coercion to provide labor or a commercial sex act. Coercion may be subtle and insidious, and traffickers often threaten serious physical, psychological, and emotional harm. Human trafficking is a global, national, and local problem, and Vermont is not immune to this crisis. Drug addicts and other vulnerable people such as children, the disabled, and the undocumented are specifically targeted and recruited by traffickers for exploitation. 

Between 2014 and mid-2017, in the Chittenden County area alone, the HTTF’s data collection efforts estimate that there were over 250 suspected incidents of human trafficking. 

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said, “I’m proud of the great work done by Vermont’s Human Trafficking Task Force to secure this highly competitive grant. As Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I’ve worked to ensure these funds are available to Vermont and to other states, where some people may not be aware that human trafficking is a problem. Make no mistake, human trafficking can be found everywhere, particularly in areas hard hit by the illicit drug trade. With this grant, Vermont will have more tools to identify victims and target those who are profiting from this insidious trade.” 

United States Attorney Christina E. Nolan said, “The HTTF and its partners are very grateful to Senator Leahy and the Appropriations Committee for ensuring the availability of funds to combat human trafficking, and we thank the Department of Justice for granting Vermont’s application for this important funding.”org or www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.