NoVo Foundation Announces Three Winners of the Pathways to Freedom Challenge
The Partnership for Freedom today announced the three winners of its Pathways to Freedom challenge. Atlanta, Chicago, and Minneapolis were selected to participate in a first-of-its-kind anti-trafficking challenge to develop citywide approaches to better prevent human trafficking and support survivors. Funding from the challenge will support a senior fellow’s salary in city government for two years and technical assistance to better address labor trafficking.
The Partnership for Freedom, created by Humanity United, is a public-private partnership dedicated to spurring innovation in the fight to end human trafficking. Pathways to Freedom, the Partnership’s third challenge, is led by Humanity United and the NoVo Foundation.
“Cities have a critical role to play in the fight against human trafficking and we are confident that the work of Atlanta, Chicago, and Minneapolis will inspire and encourage local solutions in other communities across the country,” said Catherine Chen, director of investments for Humanity United. “We are excited to support our winning cities and together develop new ways to prevent and address both labor and sex trafficking and support survivors.”
Historically, most anti-trafficking work has focused on strengthening the criminal justice response. While law enforcement agencies play a critical role in the investigation of cases and prosecution of traffickers, this approach leaves gaps in the prevention of trafficking and the many services survivors need. This problem is even more urgent now, as increased threats of deportation and heightened anti-immigrant rhetoric may cause immigrant communities to become more vulnerable to trafficking and less likely to seek help from law enforcement, report their trafficker, or access services...