Applications for funding from the Victims of Human Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation Fund are now available through the Office of the Attorney General.
The funds are distributed among service providers throughout the state each year, with nearly $2.5 million being awarded to nine organizations in Mississippi earlier this year.
In 2022 alone, the fund received 14 applications with projects totaling over $6.1 million, with the Center for Violence Prevention (CVP), Methodist Children’s Homes of Mississippi, and Southern Christian Services receiving the majority of grant funding.
“We cannot defeat a criminal enterprise as big as human trafficking without the participation and support of everyone, every day,” Attorney General Lynn Fitch stated. “I am pleased to announce that the Legislature has appropriated another $2.5 million, and organizations that are helping human trafficking victims recover and heal are invited to apply.”
Originally created during the 2020 Legislative Session to provide funding to direct service providers for trafficking victims in Mississippi, the fund is managed by a seven-member committee.
The committee is comprised of appointments by the attorney general, governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the House, commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, and commissioner of Child Protection Services, as well as one representative of a services provider.
Applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. on October 30 to qualify.
