At the beginning of May, 65 girls joined the SAFE Center for an engaging leadership retreat experience focused on confidence, awareness, and personal growth. By building awareness, strengthening self-worth, and educating participants on recognizing unsafe situations, the retreat helps reduce vulnerability to exploitation and human trafficking. Tanejah Jones, the lead event facilitator and the […]
Labor and sex trafficking ‘serious issue’ in Maryland: SAFE Center CEO warns Susan Esserman fights for victims of human trafficking By Ruben Castaneda Published: February 16, 2026 Source: The Baltimore Sun Since its founding in 2016, the University of Maryland SAFE Center has helped more than 600 survivors of sex and labor […]
The SAFE Center’s Founder and CEO Susan Esserman was interviewed on the radio program DMV Spotlight which hosts in-depth discussions with DMV area leaders to highlight organizations that are making a difference across the region. Esserman spoke to the significant presence of human trafficking in the DMV metropolitan region, highlighted examples of cases seen […]
The House Committee on Appropriations allowed each Member of Congress to submit up to 15 Community Funding Project requests for their districts in the Fiscal Year 2026 funding cycle. Ten of Congressman Hoyer’s projects for the Fifth Congressional District (Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s Counties, as well as parts of Anne Arundel and Prince George’s […]
In recognition of 2026 National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, state leaders convened at the Maryland State House to highlight Maryland’s commitment to step up to combat human trafficking as the federal government steps back. Headlined by Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller, the event was spearheaded by longtime survivor advocate Maryland Secretary of State Susan Lee, and […]
Human trafficking prevention starts with youth empowerment. The SAFE Center’s youth engagement initiatives bring together social, legal, and mental health professionals to equip youth and their families with tools to recognize risk factors, strengthen healthy relationships, and prevent human trafficking and dating violence. Since our founding nearly 10 years ago, more than 40% of the […]
This fall, the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), in partnership with the Universities at Shady Grove, featured the SAFE Center as a model for innovative university-community collaboration. The program showcased the community impact of our work and marked the launch of the SAFE Center’s expanded collaborations with UMB’s schools of Dentistry, Nursing, and Social Work. The event featured […]
The SAFE Center’s Housing Program plays a critical role in helping survivors of human trafficking to work toward safety, stability, and long-term independence. “Housing is foundational to healing and recovery; without safe and stable housing, survivors cannot effectively address other challenges related to mental health care, employment, and long-term financial stability. Ensuring survivors have […]
The SAFE Center, on behalf of the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force Labor Trafficking Committee, developed a statewide survey to gain a better sense of the presence of labor trafficking in Maryland to help develop priorities for state response and prevention efforts. As in other states and other countries, labor trafficking in Maryland remains significantly […]
The SAFE Center’s My Life My Choice program at a high school in Silver Spring, MD, is equipping young girls with tools to recognize and prevent human trafficking. This 10-module curriculum creates a safe space where participants engage in open discussions, hear survivor stories, and learn practical strategies to avoid exploitative situations. “The My […]
