CLEVELAND — Speaking up about sexual exploitation or human trafficking can be frightening for anyone. Living with it, even more challenging, especially for those with different styles of communication.
That's why the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice signed off on a grant worth more than $26,000 for the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities.
"So this grant was a call for direct services for survivors of human trafficking. And here at Cuyahoga DD, we really have a unique opportunity to support a very specialized, unique subpopulation of survivors. And that's individuals who have intellectual and developmental disabilities who have experienced human trafficking. So we put together this grant, which is from what I have researched, and this is my life. This is my life's work. So I've researched all of this. This is really the first of its kind and it includes, direct service in terms of therapeutic services, and then there's a social community building aspect to it," said Katherine Antall, human sexuality specialist.
In fact, according to the latest numbers from Polaris Project, more than 2,100 victims of human trafficking had a health condition or disability before being trafficked.
The grant covers training for direct support staff members and for the individualized therapy and activities designed for survivors.
"We have the whole second hour dedicated to truly just self-care and community building for these survivors so that they get the human connection that so often people with intellectual and developmental disabilities do not have, and specifically survivors of sexual exploitation or sex trafficking," Antall said.
The pilot project will include two groups of 10 women who have survived human trafficking. The hope, is to then expand the services to other gender groups, and eventually, see this one-of-a-kind program be implemented across the U.S.
For more information on the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities, click HERE.
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