PEORIA, Ill. – Peoria’s Center for Prevention of Abuse announced on Thursday that it has received nearly $2 million to expand its programs and services.
The center has been given $1,993,790 by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation specifically for services helping victims of human trafficking and to strengthen prevention and education efforts statewide.
The Center’s CEO Carol Merna tells WMBD’s “The Phil Luciano Show” that the grant represents a three-year partnership with the Buffett Foundation.
“We’re putting that money to excellent use training people, educating people about what is human trafficking, and what role they can safely play to help eradicate it. But, we’re also caring for victims, and making sure that they have what they need to find hope and healing,” Merna says.
The Center for Prevention of Abuse founded its Human Trafficking Services Department in 2018.
The Buffett Foundation’s grant will significantly strengthen CFPA’s trauma-informed services for human trafficking survivors, while deepening coordinated community efforts to prevent and end human trafficking in Illinois.
The grant will also support the hiring of a labor trafficking specialist, as well as support partnerships with law enforcement throughout the state.
Learn more about the Center for Prevention of Abuse HERE.
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