Quick Take
Rising Worldwide, a local group working to help survivors of human trafficking, has seen an increase in calls for help and services since the start of the Trump presidency. Most of the calls are from immigrants who were once trafficked and from members of the trans and broader 2SLGBTQIA+ community. In this piece, local anti-trafficking survivor leader Jess Torres, who serves as Rising’s director of programs, writes about the uptick in calls the organization is getting and highlights a Friday fundraising event that will showcase and explore survivor stories and offer a chance for the community to unite to help them.
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Since the election of Donald J. Trump, Rising Worldwide has seen an increase in calls from survivors of human trafficking. Most of the calls are coming from the 2SLGBTQIA+ community and many are immigrants. Many are facing harassment and the disruption of essential services, which compounds the trauma they live with daily.
It is overwhelming and heartbreaking to hear their stories. Their plights remind us why our work matters so much.
Rising has been based in Santa Cruz for 23 years, but we receive calls from across the nation because human traffickers know no bounds. Our work provides education to communities on the complexities of human trafficking. We additionally provide lifesaving resources for survivors in need.
I work on the front lines and hear these stories regularly. One recent call came from an immigrant transgender survivor who was detained at an airport in Los Angeles. We acted quickly, alerting the media so their story would be heard. Another call came from an immigrant survivor who was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement while trying to get groceries from a food pantry — her government consulting contracts had been suspended, leaving her without support.
Every day, survivors are reaching out, asking for help, finding lawyers to handle hate crimes, landlord harassment, family court issues and more.
Three weeks ago, while I was conducting a Rising Safe and Sound Human Trafficking prevention program at a school in Santa Cruz, a child who was trafficked by a family member disclosed their situation to me. They identified themselves within the training and are now getting help. Creating a safe space to acknowledge, question, identify, intervene or address a suspected trafficking case is the critical focus of the training. Then, we can connect them to professional services and get them help they need, which we are actively doing.
Supporting people at every level of our work is our goal.
We have an urgent needs fund that provides pro bono legal assistance, babysitting, car repair, car payments, registration, bill paying, hotel stays and any other resources a community member would require. We have 20 local businesses that partner with us to provide support. We also have funders who sponsor the school programming, which survivors created to offer firsthand accounts of what trafficking is and how it manifests in the U.S.
Traffickers target the vulnerabilities of those who are often overlooked or marginalized, and survivors are often kept moving geographically.
Right now, we are urgently raising funds to provide critical emergency resources for survivors impacted by new immigration laws and changes in federal policy, including legislation targeting transgender people. We’re hosting an event, called “Rising at the Rio,” on Friday, March 28, at 7:30 p.m. to highlight our work with survivors and to raise funds to help them. The event will feature survivor-driven spoken word artistry, dance performances and a reception with a survivor-created art gallery. Emmy-winning soul and hip-hop sensation SōLauren will also make a guest appearance.
In a world where rising economic disparities and hate crimes disproportionately affect marginalized communities, we will create a space that centers and amplifies the voices of impacted people. By sparking discussions that acknowledge the overlapping challenges and triumphs faced by survivors, we hope to collectively understand and create meaningful action towards equity, justice and healing.
But our current world feels different right now – it feels more urgent than ever to continue these programs and to unite in community.
Jess Torres is a trans, Indigenous educator, policymaker, and community development specialist and the director of programs for Rising Worldwide. They are an anti- trafficking survivor leader and a formerly undocumented incarcerated person who has spent the past 15 years dedicated to advocating for the marginalized and criminalized. They have co-chaired the National Survivor Network, a collective of over 300 survivor leaders, and they have overseen Los Angeles-based survivor empowerment group Resilient Voices.