DENVER — A new $979,747 grant from the U.S. Justice Department will help Denver fight the human trafficking issue in the city and care for victims of the crime.
Denver District Attorney Beth McCann made the announcement at a news conference on Tuesday morning. She said the three-year grant was awarded to the Denver District Attorney’s Office and the Asian Pacific Development Center (APDC).
The funds will help enhance the work of the Denver Anti-Trafficking Alliance, which is a multi-disciplinary human trafficking task force. The grant will also expand the efforts to identify victims of labor and sex trafficking and provide them with services and case management when they’ve been removed from the situation. Lastly, the grant will help the Denver Police Department, FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office to prosecute those responsible for the trafficking.
McCann made the announcement along with Harry Budisidharta, executive director of the APDC, U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn, FBI Special Agent in Charge Dean Phillips, Denver Deputy Police Chief Barb Archer and Denver City Councilman Paul Kashmann.
Under the grant, the district attorney’s office will serve as the lead law enforcement agency and APDC will be the lead community-based victim services agency.
