The South Carolina Human Trafficking Task Force is working to combine housing and recovery programs for minor victims of sex trafficking, with plans to create four new programs.
The funding comes from a $6.5 million appropriation from the state budget to the task force under the Attorney General's Office meant to address what experts describe as a shortage of housing resources for victims of trafficking in the Palmetto State.
Heather Pagan, a victims' advocate with Lighthouse for Life and a sex trafficking survivor, said resources like this are especially important in early intervention for minors.
"If you can take time to help a child understand and prevent it or help it in the beginning stages of it, you can save a lifetime repairing the adult because the longer they stay in it, the more you have to unravel," said Pagan.
According to the task force, there is only one specialized residential program in South Carolina for female minor victims and none for males. Pagan said having a safe place to stay is vital to staying out of sex trafficking.
"Are you gonna stay there? Are you gonna submit yourself to what people are asking you to do? Trust factors are always a barrier, but safety is important," Pagan said. "So, if a woman can feel safe the chances of her growing and being able to heal through that process, it goes up."
Kathryn Moorehead, the director of the human trafficking task force, said the new programs will be housed in unidentified houses, akin to a domestic violence shelter, but equipped with specialized resources for sex trafficking victims. There will be three programs for female victims and one for male victims.
"It would include a safe space for them to live first and foremost. Clinical mental health support," said Moorehead. "They may need health care, dental care."
According to SLED data from the Taskforce's 2023 Annual Report, of the 498 total human trafficking victims in 2023, all but 38 of them were minors. Moorehead said these victims face unique challenges.
"[The programs provide] support with either developing a system of support or help with navigating the dynamics with the family," Moorehead said. "Oftentimes, parents and guardians don’t understand the victimization, but other times, family members are involved with the exploitation of these children, so how do you navigate that?"
Moorehead said they'll begin soliciting to administer these programs' grants in January.