MARIETTA – A nonprofit that works with victims of human trafficking announced a partnership Tuesday with the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association and nonprofit health plan CareSource.
The two organizations will work with Rescuing Hope to raise awareness of human trafficking and how to avoid becoming a victim, train law enforcement officers and other first responders on how to handle cases of human trafficking, and provide health-care and other services victims need to get on the road to recovery,
“It will take all of us doing our part to eradicate human trafficking in Georgia,” Susan Norris, Rescuing Hope’s founder, said during a presentation at GracePointe Baptist Church in Marietta.
Gov. Brian Kemp has made combating human trafficking a major focus of his administration. In 2019, his first year in office, he created the GRACE Commission – a panel of law enforcement officials, advocates for human trafficking victims, and subject matter experts – and named First Lady Marty Kemp to chair the initiative. Both Kemps attended Tuesday’s event.
“This is one of those issues that the more you learn, the more you realize the needs that are out there,” Kemp said. “It’s heartbreaking. It’s brutal. The people doing these things need to be locked up for a long time.”
The governor signed legislation last week that increases the penalties for business owners who fail to post required notices about resources for human trafficking victims at their establishments.
Two years ago, Kemp formed a multi-agency Crime Suppression Unit including the attorney general’s office and Georgia Bureau of Investigation to concentrate in part on arresting and prosecuting human traffickers.
The GBI has brought 45 cases against alleged human traffickers this fiscal year, Marty Kemp said Tuesday, while Attorney General Chris Carr has rescued 116 victims and secured six convictions.
“They’re just doing amazing work,” First Lady Kemp said.
The new partnership is being funded with a $50,000 grant from CareSource to Rescuing Hope and a second $50,000 grant from CareSource to the sheriffs’ association.
Norris said Rescuing Hope will use its grant to hire a second caseworker, or “advocate” to work with victims of human trafficking.
The grant to the sheriffs’ association will go toward training law enforcement officers in how to handle human trafficking cases and to help raise awareness of human trafficking among the young people from dysfunctional homes housed at five Georgia Sheriffs’ Youth Homes.