The Role of the Resilience Fund

The Resilience Fund at Polaris serves as a crucial resource for survivors of trafficking, providing direct cash assistance to address significant financial gaps they often face. This program offers up to $500 a month for 18 months, aimed at establishing temporary stability for individuals recovering from exploitation. Evidence suggests that financial support directly reduces the need to resort to exploitative work, with a significant drop from 60% to 25% in respondents who felt forced to take such opportunities as a result of receiving the assistance. The initiative emphasizes trusting survivors to determine their own needs, ultimately highlighting economic stability as a key factor in preventing trafficking.