A Chillicothe organization that works with survivors of human trafficking will receive $16,335.66 in state grant funding to support its services in Ross County, according to a community announcement reported by the Chillicothe Gazette.
The Garden Family Advocacy Center in Ross County was awarded the funding through the Direct Services for Victims of Human Trafficking Grant Program, the Chillicothe Gazette reported. The money comes from the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services, which is distributing more than $2 million through the program this cycle.
The Garden Family Advocacy Center is one of 32 nonprofit organizations serving 35 counties that are receiving grants, according to the announcement reported by the Gazette, while several other nonprofits will provide services statewide with their awards.
The state funding can support victim advocacy, mental health services, education and employment assistance, and shelter and housing programs, according to the Chillicothe Gazette. Nonprofits that provide direct services to trafficking victims, or to people considered at high risk of trafficking, were eligible to apply, and priority consideration went to organizations demonstrating evidence-based and survivor-informed programming, the announcement said.
The program is intended to address both sex trafficking and labor trafficking in Ohio, according to the Gazette’s report of the announcement.
Gov. Mike DeWine launched the grant program in 2023, created in partnership with the Ohio General Assembly and initially funded through the state’s previous two-year operating budget, the Chillicothe Gazette reported. The fiscal 2026-27 operating budget continued funding for the program, which is administered by the Office of Criminal Justice Services.
The Office of Criminal Justice Services is a division of the Ohio Department of Public Safety and serves as the state’s lead justice planning and assistance office, administering state and federal criminal justice funding and providing program evaluation, technology, training and other resources to justice professionals and communities, according to the Gazette.
For Ross County, the award puts dedicated state money behind the local work of helping survivors rebuild — from advocacy and counseling to the practical steps of education, employment and stable housing. The Garden Family Advocacy Center has not publicly detailed how it will divide the $16,335.66 among those services.