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A Connecticut refugee organization is awarded a DOJ grant to stop child sex trafficking

WSHU | By Ann Lopez
Published December 29, 2021 at 7:57 AM EST

A refugee group based in Bridgeport, Connecticut, has received a $900,000 grant from the Department of Justice to help victims of child sex trafficking.

The money will go to The Rescue Project at the Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants, also known as CIRI.

Susan Schnitzer, the President and CEO of CIRI, said at a press conference on Tuesday that the money will go to help children in Fairfield County.

“This is for people who are growing up, born here in the U.S. living in our neighborhoods, not just in big cities but in towns, as well,” Schnitzer said.

“We’re coordinating efforts now with Child Welfare, with law enforcement in a much deeper way to ensure that we can rescue these children, provide a path to healing and help them really to have a childhood that they deserve.”

Schnitzer said this project is in line with an initiative by the Department of Justice to hold perpetrators of sex child trafficking accountable.

Copyright 2021 WSHU. To see more, visit WSHU.

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Ann Lopez
A native of New York City, Ann Lopez, has spent more than 20-years working in journalism. Her career has brought her to Ms. Magazine and Newsday. She also worked at WGBH in Boston as a producer and director for The World, an international radio news magazine show. Ann was the founding producer for WSHU's mid-day talk show, The Full Story. As a Senior Producer, Ann works with the hosts of Morning Edition and All Things Considered to produce interviews that focus on local topics and issues that our listners care about.
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