HOUSTON - Mayor Sylvester Turner announced today the start of the second phase of the City’s Anti-Human Trafficking Strategic Plan. The plan is the nation’s first comprehensive municipal response to combat human trafficking.

“The collaborative work of my team at city hall and other community partners has already made a difference in Houston,” said Mayor Turner. “With the start of phase two, we will continue to combat human trafficking through education and intervention.”

There are four components to the second phase of Houston’s anti-human trafficking plan:

Establish streams for victim screenings and making referrals to City of Houston anti-trafficking case managers

Raise awareness among corporate partners about labor trafficking to improve employee recruitment and labor practices

Engage U.S. Conference of Mayors on Houston’s Municipal Response and advocate for federal funding shifts to support municipal responses

Work with the hotel and motel industries to increase reporting of human trafficking

A two-year impact report issued today discusses first phase achievements, such as establishing human trafficking victim screening at an area hospital and the Coalition for Homeless. From screenings, victims were presented resources and referred to City of Houston anti-trafficking case managers.

The city’s shelter collaborative supported 71 victims of labor and sex trafficking.

Over the past two years, Houston served as a national model for municipalities around the U.S. and world. During the 2018 U.S. Conference of Mayors, Mayor Turner and Minal Davis, special advisor to the mayor on human trafficking, engaged municipal leaders about Houston’s response and survivor empowerment.

Following Hurricane Harvey, the mayor signed Executive Order 1-56 to ensure the city’s business partners take steps to safeguard against human trafficking.

For more information about the city’s anti-human trafficking initiative, visit http://humantraffickinghouston.org/