Grant boosts Topeka YWCA's efforts to help trafficking victims who use drop-in day center

The YWCA Day Center in Topeka provides people who have often experienced considerable trauma with opportunities for growth, connection, trust and rapport, said Becca Spielman.

The center is a safe place to eat, sleep, shower and wash clothes for victims and survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and human trafficking, said Spielman, who is program director for the YWCA Center for Safety and Empowerment.

A federal grant will now enable the center to expand access to its services, Spielman said.

How much has the YWCA Day Center been awarded?

The Office for Victims of Crime has awarded YWCA Northeast Kansas a competitive, three-year Enhanced Collaborative Model Task Force to Combat Human Trafficking grant in the amount of $513,368, Spielman said Tuesday.

YWCA Northeast Kansas acquired the grant while working in collaboration with the office of Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay, she said.

Spielman and Kathleen Marker, CEO of YWCA Northeast Kansas, talked Tuesday to reporters at the Day Center, 1309 S.W. Huntoon, which then held an open house for past and present board members, donors, volunteers and other stakeholders.

The center is Topeka's first daytime, drop-in facility for victims and survivors of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation.

Most who come to the center have experienced considerable trauma, so building relationships with them can take "a while," but the center's staff does that very well, Marker said.

What does the YWCA Day Center offer?

YWCA Northeast Kansas opened the center four years ago to help the people it serves meet their basic needs while encouraging them to take the critical first step toward getting help.

The center's creation was financed by contributions from donors that included the Topeka Rotary Foundation, Topeka South Rotary, Rotary District 5710 (Eastern Kansas), Rotary District 3141 (Mumbai, India), the Rotary International Foundation and a private donor whose name hasn't been revealed.

"We primarily serve victims and survivors of human trafficking in this space," Spielman said Tuesday.

Some of those the center serves continue to be actively involved in trafficking, she said.

YWCA Day Center gives trafficking victims and survivors 'a sacred space'

The center is aimed in particular at meeting the needs of people being trafficked who aren't ready to relocate but are looking for a safe place to eat, shower or charge their cell phone.

People using the center's services don't always have "a safe place that they consider to be their own," Spielman said.

The center offers amenities that include beds, couches, a kitchen, computers, lockers, meeting space, a library nook, bathrooms — including a shower — and a washer and dryer.

The center meets the basic needs of people who are being trafficked to help them become independent from their traffickers, who often control others by meeting their basic needs.

"This is a very sacred space for a lot of victims and survivors who come here," Spielman said.

Some people the center serves come to it after working all night, and spend almost all their time there sleeping, Spielman said.

"We're OK with that," she said.

What will the grant enable the center to do?

The center, which is currently staffed by three part-time advocates, will now be able to increase its staffing to include three part-time advocates and one full-time advocate, Spielman said.

The center is open 14 hours a week. The grant will enable it to expand that to 30 hours a week, she said.

Spielman said the grant is also expected to do the following:

• Enable the center to do more to focus on helping victims and survivors of labor trafficking.

• Enable the center to do more to educate the community about sex trafficking and labor trafficking.

• Help arrange for the establishment of a task force through which the YWCA and the center will work more closely with law enforcement.

Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: $513,368 grant helps Topeka YWCA Day Center aid trafficking victims