Friends of Farmworkers d/b/a Justice at Work proposes to provide legal assistance, mental health services and financial empowerment services to victims of human trafficking.

The goal of the FY 2019 Direct Services to Support Victims of Human Trafficking Program is to enhance the quality and quantity of services available to victims of human trafficking, as defined by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000, as amended. Funding through this program supports specialized services to victims of sex and labor trafficking, as well as for efforts to increase the capacity of communities to respond to human trafficking through the development of interagency partnerships, professional training, and public awareness activities over a three-year project period.

Friends of Farmworkers will enhance a partnership with La Puerta Abierta to provide legal assistance, mental health services, and financial empowerment services to victims of human trafficking in Pennsylvania. This project will focus on filling ongoing gaps in services, by providing: specialized efforts to identify and provide support to labor trafficking victims; opportunities for victims to confront their traffickers using civil statutes, and access to legal services to regularize immigration status; and access to mental health, tax, and financial counseling, to attain stability. The project will enhance the quality, quantity, and geographical distribution of specialized services available to assist victims of trafficking, to promote victim safety and stability in the short-term aftermath of victimization, and provide victims with the opportunity to direct services toward their own individualized goals. To accomplish this the project will: 1) expand outreach efforts and access to services in underserved geographic areas; and 2) provide appropriate services to labor trafficking victims across Pennsylvania: civil legal aid, case management, mental health services, and individual counseling on basic financial management and tax issues. CA/NCF