The cognitive approach to reduce trafficking (cart) project by roca, INC

The Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs, through the Services for Trafficking Victims program (CFDA 16.320), awarded a $949,920 Project Grant to Roca Inc., a non-profit community development organization based in Chelsea, Massachusetts. The grant will fund the "The Cognitive Approach to Reduce Trafficking (CART)" project, which will provide trauma-informed, intensive, long-term services including outreach, case management, advocacy, and comprehensive programming to assist young women between the ages of 14 and 24 who are confirmed or suspected victims of human trafficking in the Connecticut cities of Hartford, East Hartford, Manchester, and New Britain. The key objectives of the project are to improve behavioral, mental, and relationship health outcomes for participants, help them extricate themselves from criminal involvement, and increase their economic stability through services such as cognitive behavioral therapy, harm reduction programming, restorative justice practices, life skills training, education, and employment support. The project will complement existing anti-trafficking efforts in the target geography and address gaps in comprehensive services for the targeted age group of women.

Will work intensively with youth and young adult females between the ages of 14 and 24 who are confirmed and suspected victims of trafficking in the connecticut cities of hartford, east hartford, manchester, and new britain. Roca will implement its trauma-informed behavior change model to address the extreme levels of trauma and victimization experienced by victims of human trafficking and help them achieve physical and emotional safety and economic stability. The project will complement existing efforts to combat human trafficking in the target geography and address a GAP in comprehensive services for women in the targeted age group. Roca is an active partner in the regionalized human trafficking recovery taskforce and works closely with a range of partners to facilitate victims access to a broad range of services. Through cart, roca will collaborate with relevant partners to provide comprehensive services to victims and support efforts to reduce human trafficking. Cart has been designed to ensure that victims will: 1) demonstrate improved behavioral and mental health and relationship outcomes; 2) extricate themselves from criminal involvement and take advantage of available economic opportunity; and 3) develop new tools to address trauma, improve their own communication skills, and improve social connections and relationships by engaging in restorative justice practices. Key objectives of this project are to: 1) provide trauma-informed, intensive, long-term services, including outreach and case management, to victims of human trafficking; 2) provide advocacy, support with basic needs, access to comprehensive services, and assistance with navigating systems; 3) utilize cognitive behavioral supports, harm reduction programming, and restorative justice practices to ensure measurable improvements in behavioral, mental, and relationship health; and 4) provide comprehensive programming including life skills, education, and employment to increase economic stability. Through this work, roca will help young women meet their basic needs and provide a comprehensive combination of intensive case management, victim advocacy, rewire CBT, service referral, trauma-informed transitional employment, and workforce development services.