National Program Spotlight

$800,000 Grant to Expand Support for Survivors of Human Trafficking in Three California Locations

Chicago, Ill. (January 11, 2022) – CommonSpirit Health announced receiving a grant of $800,000 from the US Department of Justice’s Office of Victims of Crime to help people who have experienced human trafficking overcome significant barriers that prevent them from receiving the services they require.

The grant enables Dignity Health, part of CommonSpirit Health, to provide integrated medical and behavioral health care for 250 victims of sex and/or labor trafficking over a three-year period by implementing the Medical Safe Haven project in Santa Maria, Merced and San Francisco. The program will continue in Redding, Northridge and Sacramento, where it was piloted in 2016.

“We are pleased to be able to expand Medical Safe Haven to three additional locations in California, ” says Fred Najjar, CommonSpirit’s Executive Vice President and Chief Philanthropy Officer and President of CommonSpirit Health Foundation. “Supporting survivors of human trafficking by ensuring survivor-informed delivery of care to patients and their families is a priority initiative for which we seek funds from federal, state and private sources.”

Using practices that address the the survivor’s underlying trauma, the Medical Safe Haven (MSH) program creates a safe space for medical providers to offer ongoing care for people who have experienced human trafficking. An evidence-based care model, MSH offers survivors integrated primary and mental health care. Survivors work with an embedded patient advocate to make linkages with community providers to ensure they receive a full range of wrap-around services including legal, education, employment, crisis and transitional housing, interpretation, transportation, case management and peer support.

CommonSpirit Health is one of 14 organizations funded under the grant’s focus on developing, expanding or strengthening services for survivors of trafficking. This is the fifth US Department of Justice grant secured by CommonSpirit since 2018 in support of its initiative focused on prevention and response to human trafficking and other types of abuse, neglect and violence. For more information about the Medical Safe Haven project, visit: dignityhealth.org/MSH.

About CommonSpirit Health
CommonSpirit Health is a nonprofit, Catholic health system dedicated to advancing health for all people. It was created in February 2019 by Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health. CommonSpirit is committed to creating healthier communities, delivering exceptional patient care, and ensuring every person has access to quality health care. With its national office in Chicago and a team of approximately 150,000 employees and 25,000 physicians and advanced practice clinicians, CommonSpirit Health operates 140 hospitals and more than 1,000 care sites across 21 states. Learn more at commonspirit.org.

About CommonSpirit Health Foundation
CommonSpirit Health Foundation is making the promise of health equity and health justice a reality across the country — through funding pioneering programs that ensure greater access, creating community partnerships, and advocating for the underserved and most vulnerable. The foundation inspires investments and donations from individuals, private foundations, corporate foundations, and other entities — to support programs and initiatives that enable all people to be healthy and safe. Learn more at commonspirithealthphilanthropy.org/foundation.

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