SAFE Center Legal Services Director Alysha (Ali) Welsh was recently appointed by the U.S. Attorney General to serve as an Immigration Judge. Ali’s extensive experience in immigration law will make her an excellent Immigration Judge. Although we will miss her, we look forward to seeing the positive impact Ali will have in this important new role.
Source: WTOP | December 3, 2022 Maryland’s second busiest trauma center is receiving federal funding to help identify and aid victims of sex and labor trafficking. The University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center hospital (UM Capital) in Prince George’s County will get nearly $800,000 from the Department of Justice to go toward screening, identifying and […]
College Park, MD (November 30, 2022) – The Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) awarded the University of Maryland Support, Advocacy, Freedom, and Empowerment (SAFE) Center for Human Trafficking Survivors, in partnership with the University of Maryland Capital Region Health (UM Capital), a $799,878 grant to establish a comprehensive human trafficking response […]
The SAFE Center filed comments urging the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to adapt and deploy existing international trade mechanisms and develop new strategies and tools to combat forced labor on a more systemic basis. Those who exploit and benefit from forced labor create unfair trade conditions, devastate workers, undercut legitimate business, and mislead […]
The SAFE Center partnered with Spectrum Foods and Poultry, a University of Maryland, College Park alumni-owned company, to host a food drive benefiting SAFE Center clients. The food drive was the capstone project of participants in the SAFE Center’s seven-week Survivor Ambassador Internship program, which is a survivor leadership program developed and run by the […]
SAFE Center Research and Program Coordinator Sophie Aron was named Vice Chair of the Montgomery County Human Trafficking Prevention Committee last month, after 3 years of working closely with the committee. Ms. Aron joined the SAFE Center in 2019 after earning her Masters in Social Work from the University of Maryland School of Social Work. […]
July 10, 2022 Social service providers approach their work with the desire to support and empower others. Anti-trafficking organizations, despite a focus on trauma-informed programming, may inadvertently create a “one-size-fits-all” model of service delivery that does not account for the diverse needs of our clients. Jatnna Gomez, LBSW, SAFE Center Director of Equity and […]
Source: The Washington Post | March 31, 2022 If an adult pays to sexually abuse a child, that child is a victim. The adult is the criminal. But under the law, that’s not always true: In 23 states, it is still possible to prosecute a child for prostitution. Maryland may become the next state […]
January 1, 2022 This January, during Human Trafficking Awareness Month, the SAFE Center developed and hosted a high-level, virtual two-panel program featuring leaders from across the U.S. government, international organizations, and the survivor community. These experts delivered insights into recent developments in U.S. anti-trafficking policies and programs, and updates on important international issues in […]
Source: UMB News | February 2, 2022 While many advances have been made in the last two decades since landmark measures were put into place to combat human trafficking, a lot of work remains to be done and federal and international representation must continue to be involved. That was the overriding theme of “Critical […]
