Granite State Times

A half-million dollar grant to Brigid's House of Hope has been approved by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs to provide shelter for victims of human trafficking, according to a recent report from the Concord Monitor. 

Brigid’s House of Hope, a nonprofit, will be a long-term transitional safe house for trafficking survivors in New Hampshire and the surrounding areas. The grant is intended to help hire workers and lease a house in the state to operate as a shelter for trafficking victims.  

“For years, we’ve been recognizing that the biggest gap in service is housing for survivors and victims of human trafficking, and this grant is really going to allow us to identify these victims and survivors and allow them to transition into the community with independence," Brigid's House of Hope Executive Director Bethany Cottrell told the Concord Monitor. "We’re excited to see what that journey looks like and provide that support and create a better and safer community for New Hampshire.”

According to the U.S. Justice Department Website, the federal government spent $101 million last year combating human trafficking.

"The scourge of human trafficking is the modern-day equivalent of slavery, brutally depriving victims of basic human rights and essential physical needs as it erodes their sense of dignity and self-worth," former Attorney General William Barr said in a September 2020 U.S. Department of Justice news release. "The Department of Justice is relentless in its fight against the  perpetrators of these heinous crimes. Working with state and local law enforcement and community victim service providers, we will continue to bring these criminals to justice and deliver critical aid to survivors.”

National Human Trafficking Hotline data, compiled from 2007 to the present, shows that New Hampshire has encountered 87 cases of human trafficking in the past 14 years. These cases involved 196 individuals who had a high likelihood of being trafficking victims and 94 individuals who had a moderate likelihood of being trafficking victims.

Brigid’s House of Hope is being established by Cottrell, who believes that housing for trafficking victims is one of the most neglected forms of care surrounding the issue. 

According to the Concord Monitor, the grant totals $583,586 and will be allotted to Brigid’s House of Hope over a period of three years. The house will support six to eight women at a time and will provide food, shelter, security, mental health treatment, rehabilitation, job training and education.

Over the next few months, the safe house will hire licensed social workers and case managers to provide services to the survivors. Upon its establishment, Brigid’s House of Hope will mark the first residential home in the state geared toward victims of trafficking and exploitation.