Mother of 3 Takes on Covert Sex-Trafficking Industry

Sex trafficking in the U.S. is a widespread and under-reported crime, and the demand is only growing. But there are people out there making strides in combating this horrendous crime. Joining us here in studio is Josie Kerrigan, the founder of an organization called Rescue Her. Good to have you with us, Josie, and I'm so looking forward to talking about this. You have such an extraordinary story, and the story of this organization is also equally extraordinary. You were a stay-at-home mom when you saw something, noticed something untoward happening, and you decided to do something about it. Tell us the beginnings of this organization, Rescue Her. Yes, well, thank you for having me. And yeah, you're absolutely right. I was a stay-at-home mom. I was not an expert in human trafficking. As a matter of fact, when I first encountered trafficking, I hadn't even heard about it. I didn't realize that it was happening. And then I came across a woman, a young woman, who had been trafficked across borders. And as I'm hearing her story, I was like, what in the world is this all about? I couldn't believe what I was hearing. And through a series of events, our family ended up helping this young woman. And I thought to myself, like, wow, like as if she was the only one. I'm like, we did such a great thing here. Like, we have solved this problem. But, you know, when you encounter something, it pops up everywhere all of a sudden. And I started then hearing stories and statistics and seeing it everywhere. And I thought, how has this been happening right under my nose this whole time? And at the time, I had three kids, and my youngest was just going into kindergarten. So I was starting to look at what could I be doing with my time. My kids are in school. And I thought, well, I want to do something about this. I'm a believer. So I felt, for me, I felt like God really called me to do this and do something about it. So that's kind of what triggered me to start on this journey of starting Rescue Her. Amazing. And that is something that I think speaks to a lot of people's take on this very horrendous crime is they think, oh, it must not be happening near me. I must not. I'm not encountering that in any way. But there are lots of red flags, which we'll talk about, too. And you've been driving this organization for many years. So I you've seen a lot and got a lot of insights. Your focus is within the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Tell us about what do you encounter? What do you find in terms of human trafficking and sex trafficking just in that area? Yeah. Well, one of the things that people may not know is that it happens everywhere. We tend to think of it as a problem abroad or a problem right around border communities. When I started Rescue Her, I actually lived in a small town with only like 30,000 people. And we moved to DFW later. And obviously, the bigger cities have more of a problem. It's no more an issue in DFW than it is in Los Angeles or New York City, like all of the major cities in the United States have a huge problem. But so did my little town. And I had no idea. So who's involved as far as you can tell? Yeah. Well, the victims are often vulnerable communities. And across the globe, we have about 50 million victims of trafficking, and that includes labor and sex trafficking. But about 70 percent of that is sex trafficking and 70 ish percent of that is female. And within the United States, the victims that we encounter through Rescue Her are predominantly U.S. citizens. They were not smuggled in from abroad. They're just vulnerable communities like underprivileged. Maybe they were in foster care. They were abused as children. And the average age of entry is around 12 years old. So there are those who prey on and groom young women and gain their trust. And then they exploit them. How do you find them? Well, we work together with law enforcement. We have a hotline where people can then call if they see something. Victims themselves can reach out. But we get referrals from law enforcement, from other anti-trafficking organizations. And it's been a long road of just really gaining the trust of and start to collaborate with other organizations. When I started, I had not heard of any other organizations. And I started with just a little bit, what can I do to help the one, which is really where the name came from, Rescue Her. Because if you think of 50 million, that is so overwhelming. So what could I possibly do? That stat kept running through my head. And I thought, what if I could just help one? It does make a difference for their life. So there are over 40,000 nonprofits in the North Texas area. And we are one of three that are a part of the North Texas Trafficking Task Force. And so people can find out more about your organization at rescueher.org. The hotline number, I don't know if you have it by heart, but it's only good in DFW. Yes. No, but you should call the National Trafficking Hotline because then they get routed to us. So that is always, that is 24-7. If you see something, say something. What would you say are some key red flags? Some key red flags is a person that is not able to make decisions about their own life. They maybe don't have access to money. They may be confused about their surroundings. They don't have any personal items. Or you might just see a demeanor change because a lot of times it could just happen in a suburb or in a community. You might know somebody that all of a sudden things seem off. So just be on the lookout and then ask questions and don't put them at risk, but instead call the National Human Trafficking Hotline. And I do want to talk about what actions your organization takes to help these people. I noticed that a lot of it involves surrounding them with a sense of community, with resources. What do you see as the key issue that they're facing that you can help with? Yeah, I think one of the misconceptions, which I know when I first started and I didn't have all the information I needed, I thought that if we could just remove them from the situation, if a survivor was taken from their trafficker and rescued, so to speak, then they would be okay. But there's a lot of trauma and there was a reason why they ended up there in the first place. And so community care and a holistic approach is really, really important. So at RescueHer, we work with adult victims and if they are trafficked at 12, that means they have at least four years of that trauma and they need more care. So we do crisis response alongside law enforcement, but we also do advocacy after. And there's no end to how long we'll walk with a victim and a survivor, as long as they need it. So that includes legal, medical, housing, teaching them how to budget, how to get a job, how to reconnect with family, celebrating their birthday, like just normal life and learning them, giving them a community. Yeah. And in terms of that ongoing trauma, I noted on your website, it had mentioned that human trafficking is unfortunately a highly profitable kind of crime because a human can be sold over and over and over. And so what do you see in terms of who's doing the buying? That is such a sad question and hard to answer because it could be anybody. Like I have found that it's in all walks of life and it's really just so sad. And you're right about the profitability, the oversexualization of our society drives it. Pornography drives the demand. And then profit is really what keeps the business going. So it's over $200 billion annually that trafficking brings in, which is more than Coke, Netflix, Disney combined. So that's what drives this whole industry. Yeah. And so you mentioned pornography there. There's tons of social phenomena out there that could be adding to this kind of addiction that would cause this kind of abuse. But you're a pastor as well, I know, and your faith is a large part of your actions here. How do you see the underlying causes behind this scourge? Well, for me, because like you said, I'm a believer, that's what first drove me to want to help. And I believe that light overcomes darkness on both sides, whether it's the trafficking or the victim. Obviously, we help survivors. But I think the only answer to this, in my opinion, is God and changing our society from being abusive and oversexualized and pornography and turning back to being a God-fearing society that cares for one another. I think love is the answer. And I believe that only God can heal a broken heart. And we encounter a lot of brokenness, but there is hope and there's healing. And otherwise, we couldn't be in this work that we're doing because if there was no hope, it just is so sad and so tragic. I do see the love element coming through. And when I look at all the different ways that you help these victims, there's a way that people can contribute where they will sponsor a specific woman who's been through a lot of trauma, and they'll be able to connect with her, send her birthday messages and things like that to just show some warmth alongside the resources that are out there. Yes, we were trying to make it personal and easy for people to help because that was for me when I started out, when I was just like, okay, how am I supposed to do something about this? There is something that everybody can do. So we want to make sure that everyone who wants to make a difference can, and it matters so much, even the smallest thing. So you can give financially, which goes to all of those needs that the survivors have. And like you said, then you can connect also personally by sending messages or gifts. We just did a Christmas shopping, you know, everybody had their wishlist and we gave them, we throw baby showers, we help with just normal life stuff because they don't have any other community than the support that we provide. So it's very important. You can find all that information, you can become a sponsor, you can donate at rescueher.org and every bit makes a difference. I will end by saying this, that if you don't think you can make a difference, just take a look because I think we can all, like as many victims as there are, there are many more of us who could make a difference and really put a stop to this. Currently we have to turn away about 50% of the people that reach out for help because of lack of funds. Wow. So it really matters that people take a stand and donate and do what they can. Absolutely. And I see your love of God, of people and your mother nature coming through here, through the work. Yeah. I have two daughters myself and that's what made it for me, made, you know, how can I not help? How can I not help? I have two girls, like I started finding out these stories and I'm like, I can't sleep at night. What if this was one of my girls who was helping them? Well, thank you so much for your time today and your insights. And I wish you all the very best with Rescue Her. It's work is ongoing and will continue. And I wish you all the very best in that. Thank you so much. And thank you for having me and shining a light on this. It really matters. Thank you so much. Josie Kerrigan.