Bishops' conference gets $500,000 grant to aid trafficking victims

Published: 2006-04-18

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced April 18 that it has awarded a $500,000 contract to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to aid victims of human trafficking. Awarded through the Office of Refugee Resettlement of the department's Administration for Children and Families, the contract will fund direct services provided to such trafficking victims through the USCCB's Migration and Refugee Services. The Catholic Church has been a leader in efforts in recent years to draw attention to and provide services for the large number of people who are brought into the country each year by force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of sexual exploitation, slave labor or domestic servitude. Such people are called victims of "severe human trafficking" in U.S. law and are eligible for the same kind of assistance as those granted the legal status of refugees. Julianne Duncan, associate director for children's services at MRS, said that MRS will distribute funds from the HHS contract through local service agencies across the country to help victims get assistance such as housing, medical care, food stamps and referrals for pro bono legal help.

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