S.C. receives $500,000 grant to combat human trafficking

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South Carolina has received $500,000 from the U.S. Department of Justice to combat human trafficking.

The grant, awarded to Summerville-based Doors to Freedom, will provide six to 24 months of short-term or transitional housing for trafficking victims, including rent, utilities and relocation costs, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Peter McCoy Jr.’s office. The grant will also help victims search for permanent housing and secure employment as well as provide occupational training and counseling.

Doors to Freedom is among 73 organizations nationwide (.pdf) receiving more than $35 million in grants from the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs and its component, the Office for Victims of Crime.

“This office is committed to aggressively prosecuting human trafficking, which is among the most despicable and vile forms of criminal activity,” McCoy said in the release. “Its victims suffer immeasurably, and I am thankful that there are safe places in South Carolina for survivors of this horrendous crime to experience a transformed life.”

A recent report from the National Institute of Justice found that the number of reported human trafficking cases may represent only a fraction of the hard-to-identify offenses.