Volunteers of America of Los Angeles Victims' Assistance Sanctuary Program - Volunteers of America of Los Angeles’ (VOALA) Victims’ Assistance Sanctuary program offers victims of human and labor trafficking a safe haven and supported space to overcome trauma with emergency housing, transitional living, intensive case management, counseling referrals, essential needs and wrap-around services. Our program provides each participant with trauma-focused behavioral treatment in a framework that involves understanding, recognizing, and responding to the effects of human and labor trafficking. VOALA also provides client advocacy, education support, life skills, substance abuse treatment, peer support, employment readiness, and emergency supportive services. We work closely with all victims using a trauma informed care and safety-first approach. Participants receive case management to assist them with understanding safety planning methods, building healthy relationships, and various supportive services including emergency housing first. The goal of our initial contact is to get all victims into a safe environment. We have been successful with placing all victims in housing which includes emergency shelter, transitional living, substance abuse treatment centers, or if necessary, domestic violence shelter within a 24-hour timeframe. VOALA’s Victims’ Assistance Sanctuary staff work with a large internal and external resource and partnership base. VOALA case managers are the initial contact with victims, and they remain in contact with the participants, coordinating with the on and off-site housing case managers to ensure a safe and positive transition. VOALA currently operates a house for victims of human and labor trafficking which works in conjunction with our drop-in Sanctuary program. Once we identify and match a participant to a safe place to live, we then work with them to develop an individualized service plan to assess all other immediate needs including safety planning, counseling, education, employment readiness, health services, clothing, legal, and identification needs in conjunction with any other needs the victim identifies as important to them as a goal they want to work to achieve. After the victim has been placed in housing and their immediate needs have been met, we continue to build upon a healthy relationship with the victim by communicating with them on a daily basis, checking on their emotional and physical well-being and housing transition.
