Enhanced Rural Response Project

The International Rescue Committee, Inc. in Sacramento (IRC), in partnership with the newly formed Rural Survivor Services Working Group (RSS WG), will provide enhanced services to domestic and foreign-national adult victims of all forms of trafficking, and minor victims of sex trafficking, identified within 18 of Northern California’s most rural and underserved counties. IRC has identified an increased need for direct services in rural Northern California counties stemming from the area’s wide expanses of rural communities, large populations of migrant residents and tribal nations, extensive agriculture and cannabis industries, and continued demonstrated prevalence of human trafficking.

The Enhanced Rural Response Project (ERRP), proposed by IRC in partnership with Rural Human Services (RHS), the Yurok Tribal Court, Justice at Last (JAL), Human Response Network, Stand Up Placer, Lake Family Resource Center (LFRC), Community Beyond Violence, Project Sanctuary, and Dignity Health (collectively forming the RSS WG), is an initiative that will expand trauma-informed, safe and confidential comprehensive services to a greater number of survivors of human trafficking, and enhance capacity building efforts, within Northern California’s 18 most rural counties. The ERRP will provide client-centered, safe and confidential trauma-informed case management and supportive services to meet the individualized needs of 90 victims of human trafficking across 18 counties. To do this, the ERRP will address current gaps in service by developing knowledge and procedures within the RSS WG partner agencies and external organizations; hiring caseworker personnel and a Tribal Survivor Advocate who will be physically based in the rural counties; and leveraging existing community resources and community-based organizations that may be functioning for other tangential but similar purposes, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, substance use, and homelessness. The primary products and deliverables proposed under this project include: 90 clients served; 45 trainings completed; 18 new community partnerships formed; and 24 direct outreach activities conducted. The specific rural counties to receive targeted services include the counties of Butte (partially rural), Colusa, Del Norte, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc, Nevada, Placer (partially rural), Plumas, Shasta (partially rural), Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, Trinity, and Yuba (partially rural).