Ascension St. John Awarded Federal Grant To Help Human Trafficking Victims

Ascension St. John said a grant it was awarded from the Department of Justice will help expand its efforts to help human trafficking victims.

Ascension St. John said it is the first and only hospital in Oklahoma to receive this grant, for $350,000 to be used over the next three years.

This grant is awarded by the DOJ Office of Justice Programs and Office for Victims of Crime, specifically to help human trafficking victims.

St. John said human trafficking victims can end up in the hospital for all sorts of healthcare needs.

They are men, women, and children, usually ranging in ages from 10 to 60. With this new grant, the hospital hopes to get more victims to safety.

St. John Human Trafficking Program Manager, Sara Gadd, said one of the main things they will use funding for is hiring a human trafficking social worker.

The social worker will work directly with victims and help connect them to the Family Safety Center downtown.

"Finding someone that can step into that role and really connect victims to those services so that once they're out of the hospital, they can get a doctor, they can get medications, they can work on stable housing,” Gadd said.

The human trafficking response program at St. John started a few years ago and Community Benefit Director, Annie Smith, said since 2018, they have helped 163 suspected victims.

While victims are trafficked across state lines, Smith said many victims grew up here in Tulsa and may have never left the state.

"Victims are members of our community. They're our neighbors, they're our friends and our family and we are very happy to be here to serve our community and promote safety and well being in our community,” Smith said.

February 8 is St. Bakhita Day, a day recognized at St. John and its sister hospitals across the country, remembering and honoring Josephine Bakhita, who was freed from human trafficking, worked to help others, and died in 1947.

"St. Bakhita is a symbol of hope to us,” Smith said. “So with our program and our grant funding, our aim is to be a safe place for victims and we hope that our community can become a safer place."

For information like red flags to look for, risk factors, resources, physical indicators and more, click here.

St. John also provided this link for more resources for victims and the community to be aware of.

If you or someone you know is a human trafficking victim, you can text "HELP" to 233-733, or call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at (888) 373-7888.