Survivor Ventures awarded nearly $1.4 million in 2020
to Provide Housing to Victims of Human Trafficking
in Hampton Roads.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 10, 2020

Survivor Ventures awarded nearly $500,000 to Provide Housing to Victims of Human Trafficking in Hampton Roads.

Norfolk, VA: Survivor Ventures (SV) was awarded a $498,546 federal grant, to be distributed over (3) years, from the Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime to provide housing opportunities for trafficking
survivors in Hampton Roads.

SV was one of 73 organizations in 34 states receiving funds under this new OVC funding opportunity. This grant will provide funds for the existing SV Housing Stability Program (HSP) to 42 victims of human trafficking and their children in Hampton Roads so that they can work toward the future they envision. HSP is designed to provide individuals and families with stability and support to gradually and successfully transition into maintaining a tenant-rented permanent housing unit while receiving accompanying supportive services. It allows individuals time to work toward stability, education and employment, while continuing to heal from the traumatic experience of human trafficking. This program has also become a critical component for SV’s Survivor to Entrepreneurs (S2E) participants and their children who may not have any options when exiting existing shelters, programming and jail. According to Survivor Ventures Founder and CEO, Tiffany McGee “The first step to economic empowerment is four walls and a roof.” Annually, this program will provide 14 tenant-leased units, spread throughout Hampton Roads, for 14 victims of human trafficking and their dependents. SV pays the full rent for program participants at the beginning of the assistance period and then gradually reduces assistance as the program participant obtains income through employment and/or benefits (e.g. Social Security Disability (SSDI) or food stamps). SV rental assistance follows a 12-month declining subsidy schedule with defined but flexible quarterly thresholds. According to Sentoria Harold, LCSW, “Our clients are thankful for the subsidized rental assistance. It allows them to gradually transition into independent living with a built-in safety net.”

Partners for the grant include:

S.L Nusbaum
Greg Garrett Reality
Southeast Virginia Homeless Coalition
Children’s Hospital of the Kings Daughters
Sheriff Baron’s Office
Virginia Beach Justice Initiative
Regent University Law School
the Retail Alliance
Small businesses & community minded landlords throughout Hampton Roads

"The first step to economic empowerment is four walls and a roof."

SV currently manages a $900,000 OVC Field Generated Innovations in Human Trafficking grant to support SV’s S2E program, which creates pathways to meaningful employment for survivors of trafficking in Hampton Roads through subsidized wages, job coaching, entrepreneurial mentorship and specialized skills training.

According to McGee, “OVC’s recent funding opportunities and awards are moving the needle on survivor recovery. No longer are we stuck at clothes, feed, shelter models of care that do little to affect individualized vulnerabilities that led to trafficking in the first place”.

Virginia ranks 16th in the US for human trafficking cases reported by state. Many human trafficking victims identified in Hampton Roads have extensive criminal records which present barriers to housing and employment. Virginia is one of only six states in the nation that has not enacted criminal record relief legislation for trafficking survivors. As a result, victims of human trafficking may have a heightened vulnerability to re-victimization as many lose or cannot gain employment or safe and affordable housing due to their past criminal convictions.

According to McGee, “Hard work and dedication to one’s recovery is the most important ingredient to a trafficking survivor’s rehabilitation. But there are systemic and systematic barriers that actually increase a trafficking victim’s vulnerability after rescue and escape. That’s where we come in. Our number one goal is to prevent re-trafficking.”

To learn more about Survivor Venture’s Housing Stability Program, click here.

"Hard work and dedication to one’s recovery is the most important ingredient to a trafficking survivor’s rehabilitation. But there are systemic and systematic barriers that actually increase a trafficking victim’s vulnerability after rescue and escape. That’s where we come in. Our number one goal is to prevent re-trafficking.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 21, 2020

Survivor Ventures announces a $900,000 grant award to support human trafficking survivors in Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk, VA: Survivor Ventures announced the award of a $900,000 federal grant, to be distributed over (3) years, from the Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime to increase opportunities for economic empowerment for trafficking survivors in Hampton Roads. Only five awards were made throughout the country under the OVC Field Generated Innovations in Human Trafficking grant program to meet the needs of a rapidly evolving anti-trafficking field, and to best serve victims of human trafficking.

This grant will support Survivor Ventures’ (SV) Survivors to Entrepreneurs (S2E) program, which will provide pathways to meaningful employment for survivors of trafficking in Hampton Roads through subsidized wages, job coaching, entrepreneur mentorship, and specialized skills training. In recognition that economic empowerment begins with safe shelter, creative collaborations have been formulated to ensure participants have access to emergency shelter and rental assistance for long-term permanent housing.

Partners for the grant include:

Transitions Family Violence Services
S.L. Nusbaum Realty Company
Children's Hospital of the Kings Daughters CSEC program
Regent University Law School
Southeast Virginia Homeless Coalition
The Retail Alliance
Small businesses throughout Hampton Roads, among others

Survivor Ventures also recently acquired office space in the Percolator through a partnership with Bobby Wright. According to Wright, “We have no shortage of entrepreneurs at the Percolator, so it’s a target-rich environment for Tiffany and her team. With all of the on-site supportive services offered by Survivor Ventures, it’s a low-risk, high-benefit opportunity for our members to be an integral part of the counter-trafficking solution. Percolator is very excited to be supporting Survivors Ventures and most importantly, helping people in need”.

According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, Virginia ranks 15th in the US for human trafficking cases reported by state. Hampton Roads Human Trafficking Task Force reporting indicates that since 2016 the task force has investigated 276 human trafficking cases, resulting in 104 arrests and 193 victims identified. A key feature of supporting survivors in attaining long-term success is access to a reasonable and sustainable standard of living with opportunities for economic empowerment. Unfortunately, Virginia is one of only six states in the nation that has not enacted criminal record relief legislation for trafficking survivors. As a result, victims of human trafficking may have a heightened vulnerability to re-victimization as many lose or cannot gain employment or safe and affordable housing due to their past criminal convictions. Survivor Ventures aims to address this vulnerability through their programs set up to provide that safe, affordable shelter and gainful employment while development of their own business plan.

“A grant of this size and stature truly puts Survivor Ventures on the map,” says Tiffany McGee, Executive Director and Founder of Survivor Ventures. “We piloted this program last year on individual donations and sheer willpower alone. Because so many people believed in a startup organization with a good idea we were able to demonstrate a scalable solution. And it's really so simple: small mom and pop business owners need employees but can't afford them. Survivors need livable wage jobs but can't get them. We put the two together by filling the wage gap. Small businesses grow, a vulnerable population becomes empowered...it's a no brainer.”

During its first year of operations, Survivor Ventures has:

Supported 10 human trafficking victims and their 15 dependent children
Provided 120 nights of crisis shelter
Provided 9 months of rental assistance (on average) for survivors
Provided 8 months of wage assistance (on average) for survivors
Partnered with 10 small businesses for trauma informed worksites