The PAATH15 project is a 13-county collaborative response in pennsylvania to identify and serve victims of all forms of human trafficking

This $950,000 Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime (CFDA 16.320 - Services for Trafficking Victims) will support the PAATH15 project, a 13-county collaborative response in Pennsylvania to identify and serve victims of all forms of human trafficking. Led by YWCA of Greater Harrisburg, the project will provide a diverse range of culturally-appropriate direct services to promote the safety, healing, independence, and self-sufficiency of trafficking survivors. Key services include case management, legal aid, substance abuse treatment, and support for underserved communities such as those with limited English proficiency and those living in rural areas. The project will also develop local partnerships and provide trainings to increase victim identification and access to essential services. The grant period runs from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2026.

This project includes the counties of: dauphin, cumberland, york, lancaster, franklin, adams, perry, union, northumberland, snyder, montour, lycoming, and tioga. PAATH15 is led by applicant ywca greater harrisburg and joins three other victim service providers: ywca hanover, ywca northcentral, and transitions of PA; immigration/legal services through the PA. Immigration resource center, justice at work, and compass legal immigration services; the expertise of a former state/federal prosecutor, steven turner, ESQ.; and substance abuse treatment through roxbury treatment center to respond to human trafficking along a hotspot corridor in PA, route 15. This project will serve victims of all forms of human trafficking and will specialize in serving underserved communities of color, those with limited english proficiencies, those living in poverty, and those isolated in rural counties. The goal of the project is to increase the quantity and quality of services available to victims of human trafficking. The objectives and activities to accomplish the goal include: a) provide a diverse and comprehensive set of culturally-appropriate direct services to meet the individualized needs of survivors, promoting safety, healing, independence, and self-sufficiency; b) develop collaborations with and trainings for local partners to increase the identification of SEX/labor trafficking victims; c) increase victims access to other essential services; d) increase access and opportunity for services for communities that have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by racial inequity; and e) collect data and evaluate activities to determine if goals and objectives are being met and implement improvements to services. The long-term impacts of this project are that victims receive services that assist in decreasing the incidents of victimization and promote healing and self-sufficiency, victims experience better physical/emotional well-being; victims achieve stability and RE-integration into communities; and racial equality is advanced for underserved communities, promoting access to services, legal protections, and just communities.