Grant to UC and Cincinnati Union Bethel to Aid Victims of Human Trafficking

UC Health News

A psychologist at the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine is partnering with the social service agency Cincinnati Union Bethel (CUB) to identify and assess treatment needs of human trafficking survivors in Ohio. This work is thanks to a $900,000 grant ($300,000 renewed over three years) from the Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP) at the Administration for Children and Families."Ohio has the fourth highest rate of human trafficking in the country,” says Maria Espinola, PsyD, who is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience and a UC Health psychologist. "Cincinnati’s geographic location, transient populations and high rates of poverty and homelessness, paired with the growing opioid epidemic, places already vulnerable women and children at an increased risk for sexual exploitation and trafficking.”Espinola said she chose to partner with CUB due to the "amazing work they already do for survivors.” CUB is the longest-running social service agency in Cincinnati, addressing the needs of urban women, children, families and communities, and has served over 800 victims of human trafficking since 2006. Viann Barnett, director of CUB, has worked for the past nine years to help victims reclaim their lives from the horrors of human trafficking. "Off the Streets, a marquee program of CUB, has been at the forefront of addressing the needs of victims of human trafficking and has changed the lives of many,” she says. "We are excited to have UC as a partner on this grant which will help identify the treatment needs of victims and incorporate evidence-based, culturally-sensitive and trauma-informed therapeutic techniques to help the city’s most vulnerable. It is an unfortunate, even horrendous reality that human slavery happens in our own towns and neighborhoods, but it’s one we must confront.”"Working with underserved populations has been a pleasure and a passion for Dr. Espinola, and it speaks volumes of her character,” ...

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