Presenter: Shara Miller, Psychology & Family Science, Global Public Health Scholars
My practicum was done at the SAFE Center on the University of Maryland College Park’s Campus. The SAFE Center is dedicated to helping survivors of human and labor trafficking by providing legal, economic, and career help. As a volunteer, I was apart of the economic empowerment team where I conducted research to aid in finding affordable housing in the area for the survivors. I also conducted research on tasks such as how to best organize a clothing drive, and jobs in the area. Being that UMD is a research institution, and the SAFE Center is run through UMD, everything has to be founded in research. I also aided with more administrative tasks such as answering the phones and buzzing people in. The SAFE center is in a disclosed location to protect the survivors, so not just anyone can come in. Lastly, I helped organize both the food pantry and clothing closet as to ensure the survivors were not overwhelmed and were able to find everything that they were looking for.
Your presentation was very informative; I was not aware of the SAFE center on campus, but I can now appreciate the focused and genuine work that this center and you have done for our community. Knowing that no situation is the same for every person, it is great that the SAFE center is very accomodating to each individual. In what ways do you plan on using these experiences in your future, whether in research or other helpful ways?
This project really stood out to me because I also did a project on human trafficking for my first colloquium project. One thing that stood out to me was the prioritization of the safety of the survivors. I like that it provides resources and individualized solutions for the survivors. One question that I have is how does the SAFE Center promotes, for lack of a better term, itself so that more and more survivors are aware of the center and can come in? Also, what strategies does the SAFE Center used to make the survivors more comfortable with in the program?
Thanks for this presentation, Shara! We also wish we could have heard your presentation in person, but you did a great job and your passion for the issue really comes through. You bring up some great suggestions about future areas of research and intervention implementation, so how do you see your experience here informing work you may do in other parts of the world?