GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A nonprofit in Grand Rapids, Mich., is working to help human trafficking victims fix their credit as they try to take back their lives.
Safe Haven Ministries, which works with domestic abuse and human trafficking survivors, was recently authorized to certify victim status under the Debt Bondage Repair Act, an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act that helps survivors fix their credit after being trafficked.
A trafficker’s common method of control is to take out credit cards or loans in their victim’s name and then not pay them back, Safe Haven Ministries Human Trafficking Task Force Coordinator Amanda Colegrove explained. That can make it difficult for the victim to rebuild.
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“Once they exit their situation, that shows up as something that they have done, when in fact it was a method of control for the trafficker,” Colegrove explained. “That can make it very difficult for someone trying to take back their life and move on to be able to find housing or get a loan for other things that they might need like a car.”…