Dezhuni eł Survivor Services

The Alaska Native Justice Center (ANJC), in partnership with Cook Inlet Tribal Council, Inc. (CITC), Covenant House, Alaska (CHA), and the Alaska Institute for Justice (AIJ), proposes Dezhuni eł Survivor Services (DSS) to address human trafficking in the Municipality of Anchorage. DSS is a project designed to promote racial equity and the removal of barriers to access and opportunity for Alaska Native/American Indian people. The purpose of the proposed project is to enhance victims’ access to the diverse services that victims of labor and sex trafficking often require to address their needs. The intended beneficiaries are victims of sex and labor trafficking seeking services in the Municipality of Anchorage, with emphasis on reaching Alaska Native/American Indian survivors, homeless or unpredictably housed youth, and immigrants/refugees. The primary activities are: establish trauma-informed and culturally-based mobile programming to identify and serve victims of human trafficking; establish and implement a screening process to ensure the proper identification and appropriate referral of trafficking victims at CITC; develop and implement an ANJC protocol for identifying and serving victims of labor trafficking; offer annual staff training at partner sites; and deliver case-management and safety planning, information and referrals, personal advocacy/accompaniment services, referrals for legal assistance, and workforce development to victims of human trafficking. Primary outcomes are an increase in proper identification and appropriate referrals of human trafficking victims in Anchorage; enhancement of ANJC capacity to serve victims of labor trafficking; and increased safety, independence, self-sufficiency, and well-being for 50 victims of human trafficking in Anchorage, Alaska.