Buckeye Reporter

(COLUMBUS, Ohio)— Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced that a new initiative in Ohio will work to reduce housing barriers for survivors of human trafficking. 

With the support of $1.8 million in grant funding from the Ohio Department of Public Safety, the Ohio Domestic Violence Network (ODVN) will expand the number of domestic violence programs in Ohio that can provide comprehensive services to human trafficking survivors.

The announcement comes during Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

“One of the biggest gaps in Ohio’s human trafficking response is a lack of emergency shelters for survivors. Although domestic violence shelters often try to meet this need, most don't have room to help everyone," said Governor DeWine. “Through this new initiative, we'll expand capacity at domestic violence shelters across the state so that human trafficking survivors won't be turned away."

“Through this partnership, ODVN member programs finally will get the support and training they need to assist human trafficking survivors,” said ODVN Executive Director Mary O’Doherty. “We appreciate this opportunity to address a long-standing gap in services.”

The funding will provide grants to member programs that are interested in expanding, enhancing, or beginning services for human trafficking survivors. Specifically, funds will be used to:

• Standardize the services human trafficking survivors receive through Ohio’s domestic violence programs
• Educate domestic violence shelter employees on the intersections of human trafficking and domestic violence (such as trauma, violence, power and control, mental health, and substance use)
• Ensure that domestic violence programs have training and resources to assist these survivors

In addition, ODVN will use the funding to hire a full-time human trafficking program support manager to provide support to member programs participating in the project and develop training content on the intersections of domestic violence and human trafficking.

Today’s news follows an announcement last month by Governor DeWine that made $4 million in funding available for nonprofit organizations to help them adequately serve the growing number of sex and labor trafficking victims in need of support.

In total, Governor DeWine and the Ohio General Assembly dedicated $9 million in funding to combating human trafficking in Ohio's new operating budget. This historic investment will also be used toward additional local and statewide projects and to expand the Governor's Human Trafficking Task Force, which prioritizes a holistic approach to responding to human trafficking by identifying gaps in prevention, victim services, and prosecution

Original source can be found here.