BACKGROUND: The University of Maryland Support, Advocacy, Freedom, and Empowerment (SAFE) Center for Human Trafficking Survivors is the first university-based center that combines service, research, and advocacy to address the issue of human trafficking. It is an initiative of the University of Maryland, College Park and the University of Maryland, Baltimore, through its formal partnership called MPower program.

Through in-house services and collaborative partnerships, the SAFE Center provides direct social, legal, primary medical, mental health, and economic empowerment services to human trafficking survivors. We serve U.S. and foreign-born adult and child survivors of sex and labor trafficking. The SAFE Center is initially focused on Prince George’s and Montgomery counties, with a longer-term focus on the state of Maryland.

DESCRIPTION Survivors of human trafficking need economic security and work to sustain long-term freedom. This proposed project, led by the SAFE Center’s Economic Empowerment team, seeks to develop a job pipeline for targeted employers for sustainable jobs for human trafficking survivors. With direction from the SAFE Center’s Director of Economic Empowerment, Heidi Alvarez, the UM Scholar will research best practices for developing a network of targeted employers, investigate current labor market trends including key occupational areas in demand, job growth outlook, and wages/salaries expectations.

This research project will design, conduct, and evaluate client surveys to request feedback from clients on current employment status, wage, and future interested areas of employment. The work on this project will also identify potential businesses for employer network development, including key personnel at each business location, and provide support to craft marketing materials for SAFE Center employer outreach.

The UM Scholar will draft research reports, incorporating results from participant feedback surveys, research information on best practices and on pertinent labor market trends, and recommendations for moving forward with projects, presenting a summary of the research findings to the SAFE Center team at the culmination of the project.  

IDEAL CANDIDATE: This would be a project appropriate for a student from the School of Social Work

LOCATION: Hybrid: Remote & In-person

PROJECT LEAD/PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Heidi Alvarez, Director of Economic Empowerment, University of Maryland SAFE Center, College Park

BIO: umdsafecenter.org/team/ 

International Students: F-1 or J-1 students must obtain Office of International Service (OIS) authorization for this activity. If you are interested in applying, please contact OIS at ois-info@umaryland.edu before submitting your application. They will assist you in determining your specific eligibility. When reaching out, be sure to specify the particular project of interest and include a link to description.