BY: McKenna Gilman

FRESNO, Calif.—Less than a decade ago, women on the streets were prostitutes out for their own gain and human trafficking was something that only happened in foreign countries. Today, these “prostitutes” are victims of modern-day slavery and it is happening in your backyard.

So, what changed?

Perspective.

There are an estimated 40.3 million people in human trafficking today, a $150 billion industry. One in four of these victims are children. Ninety-nine percent of sex trafficking victims are female. In the United States, human trafficking is the fastest-growing organized crime, bringing in around $32 billion every year, which means these traffickers know exactly what they are doing.

“It’s a slow, methodical, well-planned process,” Police Sergeant Curtis Chastain says.

Fresno, both city and county, are popular hubs for human trafficking since it is located between other large hubs- San Francisco, Sacramento, and Los Angeles- and has a high percentage of vulnerable groups of people, such as migrant workers and foster youth. The hottest place for trafficking locally is on Parkway along the 99 corridors, according to Sgt. Chastain. Now, Fresno gangs are getting involved which makes this fight more dangerous. It is estimated that around $6,000 per week is made off each of these girls which goes back into our community to buy guns for gang members and pay off witnesses, Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer says. Below is a video describing more in-depth the presence of trafficking in the Central San Joaquin Valley from Breaking the Chains.

In 2016, 26,809 calls were made to the human trafficking hotline, operated by the Polaris Project, a non-profit in Washington D.C. 1,329 of these calls were reported in California alone. This industry is not new. However, the efforts to fight against it and rescue the victims who are involved is.

Today, there are organizations in Fresno, the United States, and around the world, who are fighting to end human trafficking, and some of them began with survivors.

Debra Rush is a Central-Valley native and a second-generation survivor of human trafficking. This means that her mother was also a victim, so she was quite literally born into it. However, Rush also claims that her story does not represent the totality of what trafficking looks like.

From an early age, anger and confusion consumed her as she moved back and forth between her dad, grandparents, and mom. In 1999, while living with her mom, she was kidnapped by a drug dealer, due to a drug debt her mom owed. She was then taken to Southern California for ten months where she was sold to strangers for sex.

Because of her experience, she has a personal definition of human trafficking.

“Human trafficking is the exploitation of another individual for somebody else’s gratification or gain,” Rush says.

She acknowledges that the legal definition of trafficking is beneficial for criminal prosecution but believes that is does not fit what human trafficking really looks like.

Less than a year after Rush was kidnapped, she was rescued by a rookie cop who is now one of Fresno’s best vice detectives and one of her best friends. She says her rescue was due to him showing her just a little bit of concern and doing what she advises everyone to do—see something, say something.

At this time, human trafficking was not widely known or understood, so there were no services to help her walk through recovery from things like compound-complex PTSD and anxiety.

“My identity was so crushed and broken that again, I’m acting out in various ways,” Rush says.

After struggling for months on her own, she was introduced to meth and used it to bury her trauma. Within four years, she returned to the streets and began self-exploiting.

“I took that scarlet letter that was on my life and I embraced it,” Rush says. “I went from victim to predator.”

However, in 2008, after being arrested, she had an encounter that would be her second rescue and change the course of her life.

“For me, I had a Paul moment,” Rush says, referring to the story of Paul in the Bible. “I have a faith story. That’s how my story works. I believe all the best stories do.”

She says that while in jail, she fell on her face and had an encounter with God. Although she firmly believes in the needs for trauma treatment, her life changed in a matter of seconds. She came up off the floor a different person and God began to use her life in the most amazing way.

Although Rush’s story is unique, there are millions more like her who still need help.

In 2009, the perspective began to shift in Fresno, along with many other areas around the U.S. Sgt. Chastain led the way for the Fresno Police Department to begin investigating from a victim’s standpoint and begin pursuing both the supply and demand side of the human trafficking industry. First, they created a coalition with non-governmental organizations in town such as the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission and the Marjaree Mason Center to provide services to the victims they encountered.

They still saw a need for somewhere women could walk in for help, and that is where God used Rush. Today, just over ten years from her life changing experience, Rush is the CEO and co-founder, along with Tiffany Apodaca, of Breaking the Chains. Through this, she has been a part of opening the Central Valley’s first adult safe-house, Fresno’s first and one of the West Coast’s largest trauma treatment centers, and is a published author, using her story to impact others.

Sgt. Chastain quickly became a board member of Breaking the Chains along with other key leaders in the community, such as Chief Dyer, Fresno County District Attorney Miiko Anderson, Darius Assemi of Granville Homes, and more. However, his job on the streets was not done. The police department then began going after those who profit from the industry (pimps/traffickers) and those who demand it (johns).

The biggest limitation in fighting this growing industry is the reality that as long as there is a demand, there will be a supply.

“It’s unbelievable who you see-- preachers, teachers, and cops,” Chastain says. “No one is above it.”

To attack this, they began organizing sting operations, in which their tactic changed depending on who they were going after. Chastain says that since the internet and social media is so popular, they have done reverse stings where they would try to locate victims using sites like Craigslist and Backpage. They would negotiate with the traffickers, like a john would, and set up a meeting at a motel room. Of course, an act is never completed, but once the victim has come to the motel room to provide services, they would seize her phone as evidence and attempt to trace who brought her there and as well as other johns. Then, services are offered to the victims and rescues can be made.

Another tactic is to post up undercover female detectives. Once a john would approach her and negotiate with her, the police would then arrest him for prostitution. Chastain says the department receives much criticism over the lack of john operations, but it’s important to note that these are dangerous operations for the female detectives and that their safety is paramount.

In 2000, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act was enacted to prosecute human traffickers and protect victims. Before human trafficking was a crime, a trafficker might have received only a year in county jail, according to Sgt. Chastain. Today, the same trafficker might get fifteen to twenty years in state prison. These convictions are spreading, and gang members and traffickers see how serious this issue is being taken.

“I’m hoping when I talk to my unit in five to ten years from now,” Chastain says, “I think we’re going to see hopefully a reduction in the violence and the trafficking, because the laws are finally catching up to what the act is.”

From 2010 to 2018, the Fresno human trafficking coalition of police and attorneys has quadrupled the number of traffickers they convict. On average, they are convicting about fifteen to twenty traffickers each year. Currently, there are three individuals doing life in prison for human trafficking. In a short time, this industry is being hit hard.

As awareness has increased in Fresno county, the mayor’s office has stepped in as well. H Spees, director of strategic initiatives for the mayor’s office, said at Breaking the Chains’ annual Promise Banquet that there is now a Motel Owners Association specifically targeting Parkway Drive in an effort to push this crime out of their motels and out of the city. Earlier this year, Fresno Mayor Lee Brand announced that there will be a collaboration of law enforcement, schools, faith-based organizations and other nonprofits that will target human trafficking and ensure not only that services are being provided to victims, but that these services are effective.

In Fresno, there are many nonprofits who work together to provide comprehensive services to those being rescued from this industry. Breaking the Chains, as mentioned earlier, offers everything from life skills classes to trauma counseling, including alcohol and drug care, job reintegration, and educational classes.

“Just doing life. That’s the crux of what we do,” Rush says. “Walking beside them to get them to where they are independently sustainable.”

For Breaking the Chains and other organizations, their main goal is to deal with these survivor’s biggest hurdle—identity. These organizations strive to help individuals go from victim to survivor, and survivor to thriver.

Since its opening in 2014, Breaking the Chains has served over 530 women. Other organizations making a difference in Fresno include the Central Valley Justice Coalition, Fresno EOC’s Central Valley Against Human Trafficking, and Beauty for Ashes. National and International projects with the same goal include the Polaris Project, End It Movement, A21, and International Justice Mission.