Traffick911 of Addison, Texas, was founded in 2009 for the sole purpose of freeing youth from sex trafficking by building trust-based relationships. Its Voice & Choice Program, a 24/7 crisis response team, walks alongside child sex trafficking victims along with multi-disciplinary team partners. Traffick911 hopes to expand its advocacy team so more child survivors of sex trafficking can have an advocate.
“Advocacy at Traffick911 is built upon trust-based relationships, meaning that we go deep with the youth we serve and those in our community,” said Dominique Arce, mission engagement coordinator for Traffick911.
In addition, the organization hopes to provide further support to families and caregivers with their children during recovery periods.
Funding from Yardi helps Traffick911’s mission and allows them to expand their impact to serve more kids than ever. Advocates spend nearly every day in the community meeting with youth and walking alongside them in their freedom journey. Through play and fun activities, advocates build trust and work toward Traffick911’s goal of seeing communities free from trafficking and abuse.
“We are completely humbled and grateful to Yardi. During our weekly team meeting, we had the chance to share the news with our entire staff. You should have heard the cheers! Every dollar given to Traffick911 is a ‘yes’ to a child sex trafficking survivor. Truly, we would not be able to impact the lives of the survivors we serve without you. We are grateful,” said Arce.
Alaina’s freedom journey
“Oftentimes, when we begin our journey with a survivor, their exploitation has been extensive — rarely are we able to intervene in the very beginning of a child’s exploitation,” shares Arce.
When Alaina started with Traffick911, it took her three months to feel comfortable enough to open up to her advocate. Her past situation crushed her self-esteem and diminished her ability to dream. She had fears of abandonment, but after working with her advocate with careful consideration, she shared her history and was able to bond.
Slowly but surely, her advocate was able to walk alongside Alaina as she began to rediscover her self-worth. Aliana was able to dig deep and recognize how some of the trauma from her past affected her in the present. She was able to express herself comfortably in writing and text messages.
It has been over two years since Alaina connected with her advocate, and just a few months ago, she shared a new dream of writing a book about her past experiences. She has set a goal of completing her GED and is taking the essential steps on her journey to freedom.
“One act of selfishness was not able to dismantle this brave survivor’s ability to dream,” Arce shares.
