To seek assistance from the SAFE Center, call our main line (301-314-7233) or fill out the contact us form.
Our Services
Helping Survivors Get the Services They Need
The SAFE Center provides bilingual (Spanish/English) case management, legal immigration, mental health, and economic empowerment services to survivors of sex and labor trafficking of all gender identities, nationalities, and ages.
Informed by our work with survivors, the SAFE Center actively engages in policy advocacy at the local, state, and federal level to promote laws that protect and empower survivors of human trafficking.
Our Services
Since our founding in 2016, we have served over 450 human trafficking survivors and their families in the Washington D.C./Baltimore metropolitan region.
In order to serve the holistic needs of human trafficking survivors, the SAFE Center offers a full range of legal services in-house or through a network of referral attorneys. Our legal team strives to engage in a supportive, inter-active relationship with each client by listening and responding to the individual client’s personal goals and coordinating with the case management team to serve the whole person.
The SAFE Center assists clients’ additional legal needs through a network of attorney partners. These attorneys may provide comprehensive legal support in areas including:
- Family Law
- Employment Law
- Public benefits
- Landlord / Tenant Law
- Tax Law
In-house bilingual (English / Spanish) immigration services include:
- Representation before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Immigration Court for clients in removal proceedings
- Advice and representation with regard to recurring legal immigration relief (T-Visas; U-Visas; Asylum or Withholding of Removal; Protection under the Convention Against Torture; Special Immigrant Juvenile Status; Violence against Women Act petition)
Our case managers speak English and Spanish, and we are able to provide services in additional languages free of charge through in-person and telephonic interpreters. Depending on the client’s self-identified needs and goals, our case managers may provide assistance in the following ways:
- Creating a safety plan if the survivor is in an unsafe situation
- Connecting to medical and dental providers
- Providing accompaniment to court appearances
- Supporting eligible clients throughout the application process for public benefits or financial assistance programs
- Enrolling in educational institutions or vocational programs
- Preparing for interviews and reviewing resumes and applications during a job search
We offer bilingual mental health counseling in a safe and supportive environment. Our clinical social workers use various clinical approaches including cognitive behavioral therapy and solution-focused therapy to help clients develop healthy coping skills, understand the effects of trauma, and process traumatic events. All of the SAFE Center’s staff counselors are licensed by the state of Maryland or operate under the direct supervision of licensed staff.
Recognizing that economic empowerment is a key element in restoring trafficking survivors’ independence and self-determination, our economic empowerment portfolio of programs and services are designed to create a path toward a self-sustaining life for clients and a prepared, ready-to-contribute, engaged workforce for employers. We offer preparation and support for gaining English Language Skills, earning the GED, career guidance on certificate programs, and pursuing a college degree. In addition, we offer job search assistance, resume development, interview preparation, and coaching. We are currently developing partnerships with employers to begin establishing a pipeline of jobs for our clients.
Training and Outreach drop down: Our staff members regularly deliver trainings and panel presentations on sex trafficking, labor trafficking, trauma, and mental health therapy techniques to raise awareness about trafficking among social workers, lawyers, foreign consulate officials, worker rights groups, corporate partners, students, and other community members.
