Human trafficking is a global crime involving the use of force, fraud, and coercion to exploit individuals for commercial sex and labor. Survivors of human trafficking have physical health, mental health, and other life needs that must be addressed to give them opportunities to rebuild their lives. There are few organizations that offer comprehensive services to meet all these needs which forces survivors to seek out services from multiple organizations in the community and puts them at risk for not having their needs met. Organizations that assist human trafficking survivors face many barriers that must be identified and addressed to facilitate optimal service provision and coordination. This study conducted a needs assessment of organizations serving human trafficking victims to identify barriers and generate potential solutions to service provision challenges. According to Altschuld & White’s analytic process, there is low overall service availability for survivors of human trafficking and organizations in this area should prioritize Youth & Family, Health, Substance Abuse, and Education / Vocation services. Organizations in this study experienced structural barriers, such as limited connections to other agencies and difficult referral processes, when serving human trafficking survivors. Service providers also faced organizational barriers, such as lack of staff that specialize in treating survivors of human trafficking and having services available on-site. Implications of these findings include more prevention services, such as a youth drop-in center and educational interventions, a more centralized referral process, and human trafficking-specific funding streams as part of ideal service provision when working with survivors of human trafficking.
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