Human Trafficking Fund

In 2020, the Mississippi Legislature established the Victims of Human Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation Fund in order to provide funding for direct service providers who serve victims of sex and labor trafficking. Miss. Code Ann. §97-3-54.11. The fund is funded by, among other things, assessments for certain criminal convictions and legislative appropriations.

Miss. Code Ann. §97-3-54.11(3) provides for committee members appointments to the Victims of Human Trafficking Fund Committee. Committee members serve 2-year terms beginning October 1, and every 2 years thereafter. Current members of the committee are:

(i)   One (1) person to be appointed by the Governor – Ann Hall Brashier;

(ii)  One (1) person to be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor – Katie McCrary;

(iii) One (1) person to be appointed by the Speaker of the House – Emily Simmons;

(iv) One (1) person to be appointed by the Attorney General – Lindsey Simmons;

(v)  One (1) person to be appointed by the Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety – Ashlee Lucas;

(vi) One (1) person to be appointed by the board of a victim services provider – Sandy Middleton, Center for Violence Prevention; and

(vii) One (1) person to be appointed by the Commissioner of the Department of Child Protection Services – Vicki Lowery.

In January 2024, pursuant to a legislative appropriation in 2023, we announced that nine organizations across Mississippi would be recipients of this second round of support from the Fund, to support them in their mission of helping human trafficking victims become survivors. The recipients of the funding are:

  • Center for Violence Prevention
  • Domestic Abuse Family Shelter
  • El Pueblo
  • Gulf Coast Center for Nonviolence
  • Hope Village
  • Mississippians Against Human Trafficking
  • Natchez Children’s Advocacy Center
  • Southern Christian Services
  • Sunnybrook Children’s Home

To learn more about these recipients and the amount they received, click here.

To learn about the recipients from the first round of grants, distributed in January 2023, click here.

Other resources on Human Trafficking:

Contact Us
601.359.3680
P.O. Box 220, Jackson MS 39205
550 High Street, Jackson MS 39201