YWCA gets federal funds to shelter sex trafficking victims

Sen. Wyden and others announce the $900,000 grant on Saturday

By Jennifer Anderson

The Portland Tribune, Jul 29, 2010, Updated Aug 2, 2010 (4 Reader comments)

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The YWCA of Greater Portland will use $900,000 in federal money to help establish a shelter for victims of human sex trafficking, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden announced on Saturday.

The funds come after a U.S. Department of Justice study ranked Portland and Seattle among 12 hub cities where traffickers recruit teenagers for sex work and move them around the country.

“One of the problems police have is these girls, when they’re arrested or turn themselves in or want to get out of the life, they have no place to go,” says Tom Towslee, a spokesman for Wyden. “It takes time for police to develop the evidence and case they need against the traffickers. With no place to go, all too often they end up going back into the shadows and often return to the men who abused them in the first place.

“These women are not criminals. They need someplace they can be safe, not in a jail, and can get services like counseling, which they need to turn their lives around.”