When Someone Asks for Help, Knowing Who to Call Matters

A recent referral reminded us that fighting human trafficking is not only about awareness. It is also about relationships, resources and being ready when someone reaches out.

Recently, the Stop the Traffic Foundation received a referral from The Set Me Free Project.

An adult survivor of human trafficking was in Southern Nevada and needed help.

Not someday.

Not after another meeting.

She needed help now.

She needed basic necessities. Food. Clothing. Transportation. Most importantly, she needed to know what options were available to her and who she could trust enough to contact.

Our primary mission at Stop the Traffic Foundation is centered on protecting children, preventing exploitation and building systems that make our communities safer.

But when someone reaches out to us asking where to turn, we are not going to respond with, “That isn’t our department.”

Sometimes helping means providing the service.

Sometimes helping means knowing exactly who does.

The Power of Knowing Your Community

Within hours, our team began reaching out to organizations and advocates throughout Southern Nevada.

One of those connections was Seeds of Hope, a program of The Salvation Army.

Seeds of Hope works directly with trafficking survivors and was able to offer something incredibly important: a real person on the other end of the conversation who understood what the survivor was experiencing and could explain the resources available to her.

The program offers a supportive residential environment separate from The Salvation Army’s general shelter, along with resources designed to help participants work toward stability and independence.

They were also able to offer practical assistance through clothing resources and thrift-store support.     

That matters.

Because when someone is trying to rebuild a life, the immediate questions are often very practical:

Where am I sleeping?

How am I eating?

What am I going to wear to work?

How do I get somewhere safely?

Who can I trust?

Those questions may sound ordinary. For someone trying to escape exploitation, instability or abuse, they can determine whether moving forward feels possible.

Help Cannot Be Forced

There was another important lesson in this experience.

A survivor may not immediately accept every resource offered.

Fear is real.

Uncertainty is real.

Walking into an unfamiliar program can be frightening, even when everyone involved is trying to help.

Our role is not to take control of someone's life.

It is to keep the door open.

In this case, the survivor initially expressed fear about entering a shelter environment. Rather than pressure her, the organizations involved continued communicating, explained what the program actually looked like and gave her an opportunity to ask questions. Seeds of Hope clarified that its trafficking program provides individual rooms in a supportive setting rather than simply placing participants into a general shelter population.     

Sometimes the most important thing we can do is remain steady long enough for someone to realize that help is still there.

This Is Why Partnerships Matter

No single nonprofit can solve human trafficking.

Stop the Traffic Foundation cannot provide every service a survivor might need.

Neither can any one shelter, police department, hospital, church, school or advocacy organization.

But a community of organizations that knows each other, communicates and understands where to send someone can become something much more powerful.

That is the network we want to continue building throughout Southern Nevada.

We want to know the organizations providing emergency shelter.

We want to know the case managers working directly with survivors.

We want to know who can provide clothing, transportation, counseling, employment assistance, recovery services and long-term housing.

And we want those organizations to know us.

Because when the next call comes, nobody should have to start searching from zero.

A Helping Hand

Human trafficking can be extraordinarily isolating.

So can homelessness, abuse, addiction, poverty and simply trying to rebuild your life after something traumatic.

Life is lonely enough already.

If Stop the Traffic Foundation can be the phone call that connects someone to the right person, the introduction that opens the right door or simply the helping hand that keeps someone from navigating that moment alone, we are up to the challenge.

Our focus remains protecting children and preventing exploitation before it happens.

But compassion does not require us to look the other way when an adult survivor asks where to find help.

If we know where to go, we will point the way.

If we know who to call, we will make the call.

And when possible, we will stay with that person until the connection is made.

That is what community is supposed to look like.

If you or someone you know needs help navigating trafficking-related resources in Southern Nevada, contact Stop the Traffic Foundation. If we are not the organization that provides the service you need, we will do our best to connect you with someone who does.

Stop the Traffic Foundation

Shining a Light. Saving Lives. Scaling Solutions.