The University of Maryland, College Park and the University of Maryland, Baltimore announced the opening Monday, May 9, of the University of Maryland Support, Advocacy, Freedom and Empowerment (SAFE) Center for Human Trafficking Survivors in College Park.
Located near the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP), the SAFE Center will draw on the combined resources and the wide range of disciplines of both UMCP and the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) to address human trafficking. Through in-house services and collaborative partnerships, the center will provide direct services to U.S. and foreign-born adult and child survivors of sex and labor trafficking, with a particular focus on survivors in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties. The center is designed to fill an unmet need in the region.
“These young people have survived betrayal and violence and desperately need this safe harbor to rebuild their lives,” said UMCP President Wallace D. Loh, PhD. “The services they receive through this strategic partnership will truly empower their recovery.”
The SAFE Center is an interdisciplinary service, research, and advocacy initiative of UMCP and UMB through its formal collaborative program for innovation, University of Maryland: MPowering the State. Researchers from both universities will come together to expand the scholarship on human trafficking, and UMCP and UMB students will become the next generation of trafficking experts and survivor advocates.
(l-r) School of Social Work's Neil Mallon, Prof. Nadine Finigan-Carr, Dean Richard Barth, Linda Wise, and Janice Carver
“The University of Maryland, Baltimore is honored to partner with the University of Maryland, College Park to alleviate the devastating impact human trafficking has on our community, here in Maryland and globally,” said UMB President Jay A. Perman, MD. "This partnership is an excellent example of how our two universities can work together to make each institution stronger and develop real-world solutions that benefit our communities. At the SAFE Center, experts from the University of Maryland School of Social Work and the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law will conduct groundbreaking research into human trafficking and will work closely with survivors to help them realize bright futures outside of this exploitative illegal industry. We are excited to see the innovative real-world solutions that are sure to develop from this promising collaboration.”
At the ceremony, officials from both universities, Prince George’s and Montgomery counties, and the state of Maryland launched the center, including Susan G. Esserman, JD, founder and director of the SAFE Center. Esserman, a partner at Steptoe & Johnson, is a leader of the law firm’s pro bono program on behalf of trafficking victims and has represented numerous survivors in Prince George’s County.
"Most people would be shocked to know the serious extent of the human trafficking problem in our Maryland communities,” said Esserman. “Vulnerable and marginalized people are being forced and coerced into commercial sex and forced labor less than two miles from the College Park campus. We saw a need for services for trafficking survivors in Prince George's and Montgomery counties, and we're fortunate that the University of Maryland has stepped in to help fill this enormous need through the SAFE Center.”
In addition to providing survivor-centered and trauma-informed services that empower trafficking survivors to heal and reclaim their lives, the SAFE Center also will help to prevent trafficking and better serve survivors through research and policy advocacy. The center will collaborate with the Prince George’s County, Montgomery County, and Maryland human trafficking task forces —as well as local service providers, shelters, law enforcement, federal, state, and local agencies, and survivors themselves — to share best practices and make services more accessible. SAFE Center programs include:
⦁ Direct Services: Through in-house services and collaboration with partners, the SAFE Center will provide intensive case management, legal services, counseling services, basic primary medical care, and economic empowerment programs.
⦁ Research: The center will collaborate with community organizations and human trafficking task forces to identify critical research gaps. It will work with interdisciplinary university departments to address those gaps and contribute to the body of knowledge in the human trafficking field.
⦁ Advocacy: As an outgrowth of research and direct service provision, the SAFE Center will develop and support policy initiatives in collaboration with stakeholders.
Go here for more information on the University of Maryland SAFE Center.