Jordan CRC Receives Federal Grant To Help Victims Of Human Trafficking

The Jordan Community Resource Center (Jordan CRC) in Cleveland Heights received a $500,000 federal grant to continue its work providing safe housing and services for human trafficking victims.

The Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime is granting a total of $35 million to 73 organizations nationwide to help offer short-term housing assistance for trafficking victims, as well help locating permanent housing, securing employment and receiving occupational training and counseling.

Ohio received $1 million, which will be split between the Jordan Community Resource Center and Ohio Cincinnati Union in Bethel.

Ohio had the fourth most reported cases of human trafficking in the country in 2018.

U.S. Attorney General William Barr and presidential adviser Ivanka Trump announced the awards at the White House this week, alongside trafficking victims and the organizations that help them, including Tenisha Watson, the founder and CEO of Jordan CRC.

“The administration has heard these concerns and is responding by awarding leading nonprofit organizations the necessary funding to ensure that survivors have a stable place to live,” Trump said Tuesday.

The nonprofit Jordan CRC provides supportive housing, workforce training, counseling and other supportive services for Northeast Ohio women transitioning out of incarceration or who have been been impacted by human trafficking and drug addiction.

In a statement, Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) applauded the White House’s “commitment to ensure human trafficking victims have the resources they need to rebuild their lives.”

"These grants will help victims and survivors in Ohio secure safe housing and gain the workplace skills necessary to reach their God-given potential,” Portman said.