Ohio - A new initiative in Ohio will work to reduce housing barriers for survivors of human trafficking. 

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced a $1.8 million dollar grant from the Ohio Department of Public Safety to expand the number of domestic violence programs in Ohio that can provide comprehensive services to human trafficking survivors through the Ohio Domestic Violence Network. 

"One of the biggest gaps in Ohio's human trafficking response is a lack of emergency shelters for survivors. Although domestic violence shelters often try to meet this need, most don't have room to help everyone," said Governor DeWine. "Through this new initiative, we'll expand capacity at domestic violence shelters across the state so that human trafficking survivors won't be turned away."

The funding will provide grants to member programs that are interested in expanding, enhancing, or beginning services for human trafficking survivors. 

Specifically funds will be used to standardize the services human trafficking survivors receive through Ohio's domestic violence programs, educate domestic violence shelter employees on the intersections of human trafficking and domestic violence and ensure that domestic violence programs have training and resources to assist these survivors. 

In addition, the Ohio Domestic Violence Network will use the funding to hire a full-time human trafficking program support manager to provide support to member programs participating in the project and develop training content on the intersections of domestic violence and human trafficking. 

Last month, Governor DeWine made $4 million in funding available for nonprofit organizations to help them adequately serve the growing number of sex and labor trafficking victims in need of support.

In total, Governor DeWine and the Ohio General Assembly dedicated $9 million in funding to combating human trafficking in Ohio's new operating budget. This historic investment will also be used toward additional local and statewide projects and to expand the Governor's Human Trafficking Task Force, which prioritizes a holistic approach to responding to human trafficking by identifying gaps in prevention, victim services, and prosecution.