LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY)– An organization called Hearts of Hope is helping human trafficking survivors recover from trauma. January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month.
“For the most part, I help all suspected, confirmed or high-risk victims of human trafficking. Whether that is getting a team of partners together to see what that victim may need right then and there, or whether that is referring them out to different services in the community,” Kourtneii Henderson, human trafficking regional care coordinator of Hearts of Hope Children’s Advocacy Center, said. “Also provide forensic interviews that our CAC, along with advocacy services, once they go to court. So anything that their victim may need at that point, once they’re recovered, we provide any services or refer them out to any services that they need.”
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Some of the services she highlighted were temporary restraining orders, counseling, housing and job assistance.
In 2023 the organization served 72 victims and had six confirmed victims between October and
December.
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“In our community, we do see it pretty often. I know a lot of people do not know how to report it or exactly what it is. So bringing awareness to what actually human trafficking is, is very important right now,” Henderson said. “There are victims that do not know they are being trafficked or do not know what trafficking is. So allowing them to understand those things and allowing the community to understand that you know, hey, human trafficking can be right here in your backyard. It can be at your next-door neighbor. It’s very important.”
There are two types of trafficking. One is human sex trafficking which is the exchange of anything of value for something sexual.
“It does not have to be crossing state lines,” Henderson said. “It does not have to be going from one country to the other.”
Another one is labor trafficking which is providing labor or a form of working for something in exchange for a little bit of nothing.
“So somebody may call in, and say, ‘Hey, I’ll provide you with this amount of compensation to do this job’ but when they get here, that amount of compensation is not promised or they may be saying, ‘Hey, I’m going to provide you this kind of housing, but you’re not going to get paid to work’. So you’re pretty much being compensated for housing in that situation,” she said.
Henderson said she has worked at the organization for more than three years. She explained what brings her joy.
“Seeing victims succeed once they are recovered, being able to push forward and go back into the community, seeing those wins for them and being able to jump those hurdles is very important,” Henderson said. “That pushes me to continue to come to work every day and see those smiles and say, ‘Hey, Miss Kourtneii’, yeah, this work, this is definitely beneficial for me and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for me.”
If you are concerned or you suspect or know that a victim is being trafficked, Henderson said to report it to the DCFS hotline: 1-855-452-5437.
“An ACT that was passed last year definitely suggests that you do that in order for that victim to get all these services that they can potentially get in for that case to be investigated and to bring awareness and not be afraid to speak up. It’s very important that people know and are aware of what’s going on,” she concluded.
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