Trafficking survivors in Maine urgently need support.
In the coming days, Maine’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee will consider whether to provide $317,000 in one-time funding to support human trafficking survivors in Maine. Due to an unexplained lapse in critical funding from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Preble Street Anti-Trafficking Services (ATS) has been forced to scale back necessary supports and services for trafficking survivors. This means more than 20 trafficking survivors in Maine are needlessly waiting for help today.
Since launching in 2013, Preble Street ATS, Maine’s largest dedicated anti-trafficking program serving all 16 counties, has relied on funding from the Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime. The program serves over 100 survivors each year, covering rental assistance and relocation fees to help survivors exit their trafficking situations, with caseworkers providing food, clothing, and other basic needs along the way.
Sadly, all of these critical services are severely limited without continued funding. The most recent three-year DOJ grant of $950,000 expired on September 30, and no further federal funding has been released to replace it. While federal funding may finally become available in the second half of this year, it is not guaranteed. Additionally, that funding alone would not be enough for Preble Street to immediately serve every survivor on the waitlist, as almost an entire year will have passed without this essential support in place.
This one-time $317,000 state funding, which received strong bipartisan support in the Maine Senate, will help meet the urgent needs of trafficking survivors and provide them with the resources that can help them reclaim their lives.
As Hailey Virusso, Director of Anti-Trafficking Services, shared, “We know that every moment is the right moment, and if we don’t pick up the phone, what that could mean for a survivor is that they potentially couldn’t exit a situation, couldn’t get connected to life-saving support.”
Many thanks to our partners who have written in support of Preble Street ATS, including:
- Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault:Loss of funds disrupts work to end human trafficking, support survivors
- Dr. Alicia Peters: Support for human trafficking survivors must be preserved | Opinion