Catholic Charities is thrilled to enter into a new partnership with Kingdom Charitable Trust in providing housing to victims of human trafficking. Through a $65,000 grant award, Catholic Charities will provide housing assistance to victims of human trafficking. The housing assistance provided includes rental assistance, transitional housing, substance abuse placement, and short-term emergency housing (hotels). The assistance is intended to reduce victims’ expenses while they work to build self-sufficiency, employability skills, and if they are already employed, work to improve their ability to advance in their current employment. Catholic Charities employs a Housing Case Manager, Amaury Ramos, who helps human trafficking victims secure and maintain their housing placements, and establishes and maintains relationships with housing providers and landlords.
The unconscionable crime of Human Trafficking affects millions of people each day, particularly communities historically marginalized and adversely affected by economic inequities. The continued proliferation of this humanitarian crisis is primarily due to the billions of dollars involved. Due to the deceptive nature and constant evolution of these crimes, coupled with frequent underreporting, there are gaps in the accuracy of known data, which may not reflect the true scope or prevalence of the crime.
Florida has historically been ranked as one of the states with the highest incidence in the US for both sex and labor trafficking. According to the 2021 National Human Trafficking Hotline Statistics, 18% of calls to the hotline came from Florida (2nd highest calls by state, Texas being highest) with 2,894 calls to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, 781 cases and 1,251 victims identified. Since 2007, the National Human Trafficking Hotline reports that Florida has had 20,415 calls with 6,168 cases with 15,063 victims identified.
Traffickers typically target vulnerable people including children, runaways, substance abusers, the abused/neglected, non-English speakers, children in and aging out of foster care, and people living in chronic poverty. Traffickers use violence, manipulation, or false promises of well-paying jobs or romantic relationships to lure victims into trafficking situations.
Since Catholic Charities began serving human trafficking victims in 2011, finding safe, affordable housing for them has been our primary challenge. With the high cost of living in our area (median rent $2,214 RentCafe) in addition to the barriers faced by victims with low to no income, criminal records, no identification, and other challenges, meeting the housing needs of victims of human trafficking is a constant struggle. Thanks to this new partnership with Kingdom Charitable Trust, Catholic Charities can meet housing needs of human trafficking victims.
The Kingdom Charitable Trust is a family foundation established in 2002 to support and provide opportunities for economically disadvantaged groups and communities, with the aim of promoting their welfare, productivity, and self-sufficiency. The Foundation addresses the needs of those with limited growth opportunities due to economic, social, and environmental restrictions, enabling them to learn at an optimal level and achieve their full potential. In keeping with our founder’s wishes, the trustees and directors are empowered, committed, and dedicated to working with the best non-profit organizations that bring together resources, expertise, and vision to identify important social issues, find answers, and drive change.
