Giving Compass' Take:

• Catherine Chen shares how the Partnership for Freedom works to help cities combat human trafficking by challenging cities to come up with comprehensive solutions. 

• What are the advantages of this model? How can effective solutions be scaled across cities? 

• Learn how donors can make an impact on human trafficking. 

In an effort to develop and spur bold, cross-sectoral approaches to the challenge of ending human trafficking in all its forms, Humanity United, in 2013, launched the Partnership for Freedom, a public-private partnership aimed at catalyzing new ideas, data, commitments, and actions in the anti-trafficking movement through three "innovation challenges." In our third and final challenge, Pathways to Freedom, Humanity United and the NoVo Foundation, in collaboration with 100 Resilient Cities, challenged the twenty-four 100RC member cities in the U.S. to propose a holistic, comprehensive approach to the problem of trafficking. We are pleased to announce that three of those cities — Atlanta, Chicago, and Minneapolis — have been invited to partner with us to tackle this pressing challenge.

To support the three cities as they develop and implement citywide plans to address labor and sex trafficking and better support survivors, Pathways to Freedom will award each city funding for a senior fellow for two years who will serve directly at the highest levels of municipal government. The fellow will work across multiple city agencies and with a range of community stakeholders. Each winning city also will receive technical assistance to fill knowledge gaps with respect to labor trafficking.

The challenge is designed to help cities develop a comprehensive response to human trafficking. Survivors, as well as those at risk of trafficking, often cycle in and out of city services and municipal-level systems such as housing, public health, and labor enforcement. At the same time, people exposed to trafficking often have complex histories that require a more holistic response than currently exists. To truly help survivors and victims of trafficking, an effective  approach must involve more than just one system.

Read the full article about the effort to end human trafficking by Catherine Chen at PhilanTopic.