Local Justice Initiative Update: Safety Compass

Friends,

As many of you know, we’ve been busy developing our latest Aquaponic Farm and program in Gales Point, Belize. Designed to meet the needs of an entire village, this is our most intricate and advanced Farm to date. We’ll continue sharing updates as this project develops. And while our attention has been primarily directed towards this recent build, we've also been working with our local justice-based partners – coming alongside some great local organizations to join in the fight against domestic trafficking, specifically by contributing to resources for survivor intervention and advocacy. I cannot express how massive the need (and therefore opportunity) is in Portland and our own local neighborhoods.

Thanks to the generosity of our Partners, Sponsors, Partner guides, and all the good-hearted people that support FFC, we were able to launch our Advocacy Sponsorship Program last year. Every $2,000 that goes towards FFC's ASP can provide a trauma-informed advocate for a trafficking survivor for an entire year. This advocacy provides survivors with a specialist who can offer crisis response, safety planning, law enforcement interview accompaniment, resource referrals, court accompaniment, case management, and mental health referrals. This is life-giving work.

In 2020 FFC was able to sponsor 14 survivors, which provided much-needed assistant to the overwhelming caseloads at Safety Compass. We’re proud to report that this year FFC has sponsored 20 survivors through our Advocacy Sponsorship Program. To give you an idea of the difference that victim advocacy can make, I’ve included a couple of real life narratives from local cases this year. Names have been changed to protect the victims, but these situations are real.

Kimberly: Kimberly was referred to Safety Compass by the juvenile department after she disclosed that she was being exploited. After speaking with an advocate and working through some of her trauma in therapy, she decided she wanted to talk with law enforcement. A Safety Compass advocate accompanied her during numerous interviews with her detective throughout the process. Law enforcement was able to do an undercover mission and successfully identify and arrest her exploiter. Now that her exploiter is off the streets, Kimberly has been working on finding a “new normal”. She has returned to attending school regularly, is receiving mental health services, and is working on finding a part time job.

Kaelly: Kaelly was referred to Safety Compass through the community court/diversion program in Clackamas County. She and her daughter were in need of long-term housing as they had just left her abusive boyfriend/trafficker and needed a safe place to stay. Safety Compass connected her to a local domestic violence organization who helped her with rental assistance and getting her own apartment for the very first time. As she entered the apartment, she broke down on the floor crying and saying, "this is the first place I have ever felt safe." Having a safe place to process everything gave her the capacity to seek out trauma informed mental health services. Kaelly now has a job, attends a weekly DV support group, and she and her daughter are both in therapy to begin the healing journey.

Mackenzie: Mackenzie is a participant that we helped who was unhoused and had been couch surfing after leaving her trafficker. Her trafficker had taken all of her identification and documents like birth certificate and social security card. She was frustrated because she felt like the system was so difficult to navigate trying to find housing, get food assistance, figuring out to get new copies of all her important documents. Safety Compass was able to connect her to a women’s housing program where she can live with other women to build community, receive therapy, get clean and sober, and go back to school to get her GED. She is still enrolled and living at the program and doing well.

Jocelyn: Jocelyn is a participant who was enrolled in high school but was referred to us by her school counselor due to poor school attendance. She was extremely at risk due to her family being active in the cartel and she had been used as a drug mule and after being initiated. When she turned 18, she decided she wanted to leave the state to get away from the cartel and start a new life. Safety Compass got her connected to a program in Phoenix, AZ for survivors of trafficking. The program she is in is providing her with medical care, behavioral and mental health care, care and job placement, and a school program to finish her GED.

Thank you all for your continued support in providing sustainable solutions to poverty and human trafficking. We couldn’t do this without you.

-Bucky and team