Voluntary, Free, and Confidential We provide direct services to victims and survivors of human trafficking in Central Oregon. NATIONAL
PREVENTION MONTH JANUARY 2024
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The at:project offers support to both adult and minor victims and survivors of human trafficking in Central Oregon. Our assistance involves connecting survivors with community resources at any stage, from crisis to stabilization. We advocate for a personalized healing-centered approach that prioritizes the emotional, physical, and legal protection of individuals while respecting their cultural, gender identification, and citizenship status. The at:project is a program of J Bar J Youth Services. Since 2010, January has been designated as National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. This provides an opportunity to educate, raise awareness, and shed light on an issue that impacts individuals, families, and communities in diverse ways.
Helping People Reclaim Their Lives
82
Clients served in 2023
58
Adults served
24
Minors served
HUMAN TRAFFICKING:
SURVIVORS’ VOICES
What is human trafficking? Human trafficking is a crime involving the exploitation of individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for various purposes, including forced labor and sexual exploitation.
Is human trafficking the same as human smuggling? Human trafficking is often confused with human smuggling, which involves illegal border crossings. In fact, human trafficking does not require any movement whatsoever.
Who are the traffickers?
Several of our clients agreed to share their words with you here. We are grateful to them for their willingness to shine a light on their experiences. Can you share factors in your life that you believe made you vulnerable to trafficking?
“My age, ethnicity, gender and the adults around me.”
There is no typical trafficker. Family members and caregivers, intimate partners, and employers are the main recruiters (Polaris, 2020).
“Being homeless and instability including no financial income.” “Witnessing domestic violence and experiencing abuse from my mom’s boyfriends.”
How would you describe the process of grooming in your experience? “Being groomed is all a mind game, where they give you things like a place to sleep or do things to build your trust and gain your loyalty and even give you a guilty conscience.”
“Isolated from friends and family. The trafficker said my son would be hurt if I didn’t do what I was told.” “They would love bomb me and appear to be overly loving and caring.”
Why do those who experience trafficking stay? Very frequently, people who experience human trafficking don’t have the necessities, such as a house, food, or transportation. Some are afraid for their safety or have been manipulated so that they do not identify that they are under the control of another person.
What makes someone vulnerable to human trafficking? Human trafficking is sustained by systemic inequalities. Some risk factors that can make individuals more vulnerable include among others: poverty, history of abuse or trauma, substance abuse, immigration status, and lack of social support.
What coping mechanisms or strategies did you encounter? Can you discuss the emotional or psychological impact of the trafficking experience on your well-being?
“It was safer to be awake all night.” “Mentally checking out so I didn’t have to feel the emotions.”
“I am currently seeing a lot of long term effects. I still struggle with an eating disorder and I’m learning that food is something I always deserve not something I somehave to earn or some thing I get by being abused.”
How has your journey towards healing and recovery been, and what resources or supports have been most valuable in that process?
“I’m of course still learning and healing day by day and in counseling. Allowing myself to let people into my healing journey has been the most difficult but also most beneficial.”
“Doing things I never thought I could (GED, License, Job), my childhood friends being my cheerleaders, at:project helping me get going.”
“Sometimes it’s hard facing the truth that I’m having to fix and put back together something that I didn’t break.”
“The most help I have had is the at:project. I would be homeless with my newborn daughter if not for them. So thank you to all the lovely women who have helped put me in a situation to succeed, to heal, and have given me a second chance at life.”
NATIONAL
PREVENTION MONTH JANUARY 2024
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Providing Leadership for our Region’s Human Trafficking Response Team The at:project leads the AntiTrafficking Alliance of Central Oregon (ATACO), a task force comprising agencies in Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson counties. ATACO, a certified multidisciplinary team under the Oregon Department of Justice, coordinates and maximizes local resources for a comprehensive response to suspected and confirmed human trafficking cases
in Central Oregon. The team is committed to a comprehensive approach to addressing both sex and labor trafficking, including identifying and recovering victims; proactively investigating, identifying, apprehending, and prosecuting those engaged in human trafficking; and providing trauma-informed, victimcentered services to those impacted by human trafficking.
ATACO Member Agencies: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Bend Police Department Redmond Police Department Deschutes County Sherriff's Office ODHS/ Child Welfare – Crook, Deschutes, Jefferson Deschutes County District Attorney's Office Deschutes County DA's Victims’ Assistance FBI Victims’ Assistance Juvenile Department – Crook, Deschutes Deschutes County Adult Parole & Probation Bend La Pine Schools/ High Desert ESD KIDS Center BestCare Crook County Deschutes County Behavioral Health Deschutes County Stabilization Center at:project / J Bar J Youth Services
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at-project.org/events