October 2024.
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Palm Beach is pleased to announce a 3-year competitive grant award of $847,000 from the Office of Victims of Crime (OVC) for their FY 2024 Anti-Trafficking Housing Assistance Program. The purpose of this program is to expand, and strengthen funded organizations so they can provide housing and associated support services to victims of human trafficking. Catholic Charities applied under purpose area 2: Enhancing Scope of Housing Assistance for Human Trafficking Victims. The purpose of these awards is to support organizations with a demonstrated history of providing human trafficking victims with housing assistance and support services.
Catholic Charities was one of only 14 anti-trafficking housing assistance grants awards nationally in 2024, totaling $12,761,456; and the only awardee in the state of Florida.
This generous support will significantly enhance our organization's efforts to provide vital housing services to victims of human trafficking within our 5-county service area of Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Okeechobee, and Indian River Counties. The funding will allow us to provide short-term and transitional housing to victims of human trafficking as well as offer a wide array of support services, including intensive case management, job development and training, mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment, transportation, and legal services. Our goal is to ensure that every victim receives the comprehensive support they need to heal and thrive.
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Palm Beach, in collaboration with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office (PBSO), is also a FY 2023 recipient of Enhanced Collaborative Model grant award, supporting the Palm Beach County Human Trafficking Task Force. This 3-year funding, at $750,000 each for Catholic Charities and PBSO, supports one of only 10 task forces nationally, and only 6 of which, are purpose area 2 for more experienced task forces. Our OVC funded task force has been in existence since 2016. Catholic Charities has been serving victims of human trafficking since 2011. Through this grant, Catholic Charities provides long-term case management to adult and child victims of sex and labor trafficking.
We are deeply grateful to the Office for Victims of Crime for their commitment to addressing human trafficking and for their trust in our mission to support and empower victims. This partnership represents a crucial step forward in the fight against human trafficking, and we are eager to continue making a meaningful impact through this initiative.
