The Young Women's Christian Association of Wheeling WV Survivors of Trafficking Empowerment Program

The Young Women’s Christian Association of Wheeling, WV (YWCA Wheeling) proposes to offer enhanced comprehensive services for victims of all types of human trafficking and to address the human trafficking problem in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia. The YWCA Wheeling will focus on trauma-informed support services, advocacy and legal assistance, client coordination, client safety and well-being, education and employment assistance, direct access to health-related services, provision of emergency items and assistance, housing assistance and family reunification for victims of human trafficking. YWCA Wheeling previously received an OVC FY 2018 Comprehensive Services for Victims of All Forms of Human Trafficking: Purpose Area 3 Capacity Building award, becoming the first organization in West Virginia to offer comprehensive services to victims of human trafficking through the Survivors of Trafficking Empowerment Program. 

Through this award, the YWCA Wheeling will offer enhanced comprehensive services including emergency safe shelter, transitional housing, crisis management and safety planning, peer recovery support for substance abuse, career exploration and job training, financial literacy, culturally specific support for victims of human trafficking to obtain sustainable employment and sustainable safe housing. Services will be offered to victims in high poverty areas in both urban and rural areas of West Virginia, with enhanced safety benefit in a Qualified Opportunity Zone.