GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A nonprofit in Grand Rapids, Mich., is working to assist human trafficking victims repair their credit score as they attempt to take again their lives.
Safe Haven Ministries, which works with home abuse and human trafficking survivors, was lately licensed to certify sufferer standing beneath the Debt Bondage Restore Act, an modification to the Truthful Credit score Reporting Act that helps survivors repair their credit score after being trafficked.
A trafficker’s frequent methodology of management is to take out bank cards or loans of their sufferer’s title after which not pay them again, Secure Haven Ministries Human Trafficking Process Pressure Coordinator Amanda Colegrove defined. That may make it tough for the sufferer to rebuild.
“As soon as they exit their scenario, that exhibits up as one thing that they’ve achieved, when in reality it was a way of management for the trafficker,” Colegrove defined. “That may make it very tough for somebody attempting to take again their life and transfer on to have the ability to discover housing or get a mortgage for different issues that they may want like a automobile.”
She added, “What (the Debt Bondage Restore Act) permits us is to only present one other path for our shoppers to rebuild their lives, take again what was taken from them and discover a approach to be self-supporting as soon as once more.”
Certifying a consumer’s sufferer standing is simply step one. From there, they must work via the method of every credit score reporting firm, which can decide if they’ll take away the traffickers’ actions from their credit score report.
As a result of it is a new course of, Colegrove stated, it is nonetheless unclear how lengthy that can take.
“People who could have skilled trafficking and need to have assist with this want to know that it should take time and it isn’t going to occur straight away,” she stated. “Finally, it rests with the credit score reporting firm and what they determine.”
She additionally famous that it would not take away the debt, although different instruments, similar to utilizing stolen identification assets, may assist carry debt reduction.
“The crux of the matter is that they’ve a possibility to enhance their credit score rating and this enables them to rebuild their lives after trafficking,” she stated.
For those who or somebody you realize wants assist, name or textual content the Secure Haven Ministries 24/7 assist line at 616.452.6664.