Traffick911 has joined numerous partnering agencies in Texas to combat human trafficking, and says its highest priority is serving youth who have been trafficked.
Traffick911's Executive Director Lindsey Speed said the organization's response to human trafficking can be described as "relational advocacy."
"Our 24/7 crisis response team responds to the recoveries of child sex trafficking victims in North Texas and begins building relational trust immediately," Speed told the Lone Star Standard. "Our long-term empowerment program then engages victims in safety planning, meeting immediate needs, case management, and working toward goals for the future. Our team commits to each youth in a trust-based relationship and recognizes that healing from trafficking takes place in the context of healthy relationships that are crucial to build the stability survivors need."
The number of agencies Traffick911 works with include law enforcement, youth shelters, rehabilitation facilities, multidisciplinary teams, counselors and therapy providers, Speed said.
"Our law enforcement partners call our 24/7 crisis response line when a child is recovered from a trafficking situation, and other partnering agencies work with us to provide wraparound services to youth who need specialized, trauma-informed care to move toward stability. In addition, we partner closely with the office of the governor’s child sex trafficking team, who selected Traffick911 to provide crisis response and relational advocacy services," Speed said.
The full list of groups Traffick911 works with collaboratively to fight human trafficking includes more than two dozen organizations.
Regarding the organization's biggest achievement, Speed said, "Our advocacy program, the voice and choice empowerment program, was built and implemented as a response to what our team learned from walking with survivors for years on their recovery journey. Our program is informed directly by the relationships we have built with youth experiencing trafficking, and we’ve had the immense joy of learning from these survivors and seeing them grow in confidence and stability as they heal from trafficking experiences."
Youth who have experienced trafficking remains Traffick911's highest priority.
"Our highest priority is serving youth who have experienced trafficking through the lens of our organizational values of hope, ingenuity, integrity, justice, compassion, collaboration and excellence," Speed said. "Our hope is that by giving voice to the survivors in North Texas, more of our communities will come to understand the intersectional issues of trafficking and the people who are affected by it so they can advocate for real solutions. "
Human trafficking is a complex issue, and Speed said the central issues need to be understood.
"As with any human rights issue, the truth is more complex than social media can make it out to be," Speed said. "In order to advocate for the most-effective solutions, we have to do the work to understand the real issues and that entails listening to survivor voices, coming alongside reputable organizations in the anti-trafficking space, and doing the research before you share information."
Truth as opposed to misconceptions about trafficking is vitally important.
"Misconceptions, such as the myth that trafficking most often happens as a kidnapping, make the most-vulnerable people in our communities even more invisible, and it shortchanges the reality that the vast majority of trafficking happens to marginalized kids who are running from neglect or abuse in their own communities," Speed said. "We have a responsibility to advocate for them by advocating for the truth."
Texans who want to help in the fight against trafficking can find action steps and learn more at traffick911/free-people, which is Traffick911’s Free People Free People initiative that is "designed to engage community members in the fight against sex trafficking," said Speed.
