The Chicago Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) announced the official launch of the Emergency Financial Assistance (EFA) for Gender-based Violence and Human Trafficking (GBV/HT) Survivors, a new $5M fund to provide cash assistance to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking, with an additional $1M in funding from the 2023 budget. The program will provide one-time, $1000 payments in support of the economic stability of survivors. The application will be open until June 30. Approved applications in this period will receive assistance in the order in which they applied, following the successful processing of the application itself. The Emergency Financial Assistance Program is intended to reach over 5,000 survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and/or human trafficking who live in Chicago. The goal of the program is to support survivors’ economic stability by providing emergency financial assistance to cover expenses such as, but not limited to, childcare, transportation, medical expenses, education, or housing costs. To meet eligibility requirements, an individual must be at or below 300 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), for example $74,580 per year for a family of three, as dictated by the Treasury Department. Survivors who live in or are fleeing violence from communities hard-hit by COVID-19 will be prioritized.  The application will be opened in phases throughout the rest of 2023 until 5,520 survivor payments are completed. Survivors interested in applying can visit www.the-network.org/survivor-fund/