Futures Without Fear, the Mohave County Human Trafficking and Domestic Violence Coalition, is a newly formed multi-disciplinary coalition to build capacity, raise awareness and provide services to minor victims of human trafficking and domestic violence.
In February 2020, a group of concerned citizens convened a group to discuss ways to bring awareness of human trafficking in Mohave County to light, and to discuss what services are available, or could be strengthened to serve victims of human trafficking and domestic violence. Stakeholders in attendance were Arizona Youth Partnership (runaway and homeless youth services and other youth services), law enforcement, Mohave County Health and Probation Departments, behavioral health providers, domestic violence shelter/service providers, Faith Based Group, youth serving agencies and other concerned citizens.
Due to COVID19, the group meetings were put on hold until September 2020 when the group started its efforts again with the availability of social distancing and online meeting attendance availability. Since then, the group has been able to expand to all three major communities in Mohave County, as well as the Hualapai Nation. The group has received trainings via The McCain Institute, Dr. Gandolfo of the Coalition Against Human Trafficking –Northern Arizona, The Office of Victims of Crime, and Project Starfish.
To boost the capacity of the coalition and future services, Arizona Youth Partnership was awarded a 3-year grant from the Department of Justice, Office of Victims of Crime (OVC). The funding will be used to build capacity to serve human trafficking victims and allow the coalition to provide training, awareness, determine existing resources, develop service plans including identification and assessment tools, provide service linkages, and ultimately provide services to minor victims of human trafficking.
Arizona Youth Partnership will act as the fiscal agent, provide technical support for the coalition and fund a full-time case manager to serve survivors. Additionally, the coalition has adopted a vision and mission statement, identified officers and work groups, and developed 3 key objectives:
1. Coordinate and collaborate with local partners to identity available resources and gaps in service to effectively serve victims of domestic violence and human trafficking in our communities.
2. Develop a Victim Service Plan to accurately identify and assess victims of domestic violence and domestic human trafficking; and utilize said plan to refer victims to services within our rural area to effectively address their trauma and associated hardships.
3.Educate and raise community awareness of domestic violence and human trafficking prevention and trends.
Additional technical assistance from existing coalitions and work groups is welcomed. Although it is new, the coalition has the compassion, drive and ambition to bring services to Mohave County victims.
Anyone wanting to report a human trafficking issue or wishing to be involved in Futures Without Fear should contact Barbie Nielson, Human Trafficking Task Force Project Coordinator for the Arizona Youth Partnership. (928-352-2073, 928-499-2176 or barbie@azyp.org.
