(upbeat music) (gentle music) - [Narrator] Production for this program made possible by Caity Maple, Parkwest Casinos, and Holt of California.

(gentle music continues) (suspenseful music) - I thought I was in love, you know, I thought I was in love until... And it was fast money, it was fast money.

You know, I was on drugs.

- They make a lot of money out there.

It's the underground economy.

It's a cash economy cash cow.

(suspenseful music continues) - We're dealing with individuals with days, weeks, months, years, even decades of trauma.

(suspenseful music continues) - The average life expectancy of these, especially the young ladies, is 7 to 10 years.

(suspenseful music continues) - It's not gonna get better.

It's gonna get worse.

(suspenseful music continues) - I can call the police, but is there gonna be here in time?

(suspenseful music continues) So, a lot of times, I found myself just to surrender to him because of that.

(suspenseful music continues) - This man will not stop.

So, it's about trying to get him behind, you know, get him in the past.

(suspenseful music continues) - A friend of hers gave her the hotline number and said, "When you're ready, you need to reach out."

(suspenseful music continues) (gentle music) (gentle music continues) (metal clacking) - All right, you ready to go?

- Yes, I'm ready.

My name is Laura, and I am 46 years old.

- Stabilized here, okay?

(machine clicking) - I think I wanted to be a teacher when I was little because I used to play teacher all the time.

But, you know, I never had time to think what I wanted to be when I grew up because I grew up so fast.

(machine clicking) It does hurt a little bit, but you know what it hurt?

It hurt way more, again, the tattoos than it does to remove them.

Like, the one on the back of my neck, I was like 13, and the one on my chest was about 10 years ago.

Well, 13, I was going on 14, I had my first child.

By I was 16, I had like my own little house, and I took care of the baby.

And, yeah.

By the time I was 17, I had two kids.

(gentle music continues) I was already kind of checking out the situation of being a prostitute.

So, I had this little ad, but I was just really fresh me, and I wasn't really too...

I didn't know really what I was doing.

He was already a pimp or whatever, you know, a manager.

He seen my ad.

He called me and he had me come meet him.

You know, I thought he was gonna be a client, you know?

When I got there, you know, he finessed me lightweight, you know, and then he reeled me in.

They call it fishing.

(suspenseful music) I thought I was in love, you know?

I thought I was in love until... And it was fast money, it was fast money.

You know, I was on drugs.

(suspenseful music continues) He loved bought me, you know?

Yeah, he did.

And so now we're rocking, you know?

We were rocking together and everything was good and we were making money, and then it just got abusive.

We got real abusive.

(suspenseful music continues) I didn't wanna really do it no more.

You know, and it was an abuse.

And then he didn't like the fact that I wasn't trying to give him no more money.

And then he just stopped coming home.

And so I would look in his phone and he was having other girls that he would be calling, fishing again and his phone.

And, you know, I thought you were supposed to be my dude, I guess boyfriend pimping is how they say something like that, along those lines.

But, you know, I loved him.

You know, I loved him.

He found some other girls.

And he kicked me once, two more many times in my chest, and I had bruises all over me.

And, you know, he had two other girls.

And so I just got fed up.

I just couldn't take it no more.

And I got fed up and I left.

(suspenseful music continues) She did call the hotline number, and a friend of hers gave her the hotline number and said, "When you're ready, you need to reach out."

(suspenseful music continues) - When I called 'em, they said, "Come in."

I got tired.

I just left everything.

I left all my stuff at the motel.

I left everything.

And I just went in there.

I was just fed up.

And I went in there and I was at the end of my ropes.

I mean, that's when I met Michelle.

- Your financials came, right?

- [Caller] Yeah.

- Okay.

All right.

Okay.

Have you talked to your dad?

- [Caller] Not recently.

- Okay.

You should call him and let him know you're okay.

(keyboard clacking) She did call the hotline number, and a friend of hers gave her the hotline number and said, "When you're ready, you need to reach out."

It takes sometimes 7, 8, 9 times before they're really sick and tired.

And I think a lot of that has to do with education.

So, every time a client comes to me, I'm giving them some type of knowledge on cycles, on trafficking, on the situations that they're in.

And I'm putting, you know, little seeds and knowledge in their head, which I'm hoping will empower eventually, right?

So, they go back out, I don't hear from 'em.

They call.

And then I get to see them again, get to know them a little bit more.

And that's why I do, take my clients to where they need to go, take them to doctor's appointments.

I'll take them to the welfare office to... You know, I'm there with the clients.

'Cause when you spend time with them, that's when you build a relationship, and that's when you build the trust.

- So, I would jump on that opportunity just because you haven't had any luck with the current person that you're working with.

Every day is a different challenge.

And some days are smoother than others.

It's just about learning how to, like, cope with it.

They don't have anywhere to go.

So, they do wanna leave, but there's like financial barriers that are holding 'em back.

You know, their money's getting taken away from them.

Or, they're not allowed to have a bank account.

And so because they don't have their own finances a lot of the time, then they can't just leave.

You know, people are like, "Why don't you just leave?"

Where are they gonna go?

You know?

And then with the hotel programs, they could get into a room for 16 days, 30 days.

That's it.

That's not enough time to get people into safety 'cause what are they gonna do when that month is up?

And if they have nowhere to go, they usually just go back to their abusers.

(gentle music) - I wanted to be a law enforcement, a police officer.

They help people.

I was a kid and I liked the things that they did, like, to help the public.

Having a mom on drugs was the biggest hurdle for me because I had to take on being an adult at a young age.

I found out 11th grade, the end of the school year, I was pregnant.

So, the next school year, when I went back from my senior year, I didn't get to finish.

They send me to Johnson School, where you go when you're pregnant.

I dropped out.

Became a mom.

- She's in that stage again of starting over.

So, she's been down this path.

This is not her first rodeo.

She's been in this cycle since she was 16 years old.

And it's really hard to get out of this cycle for many reasons.

- First, it was drugs.

I became his runner.

Then the more stuff that they buy you or the longer that they show to you, 'cause I was a runaway, the more that they do for you, the more you owe them.

So, they say, "So, you try to not like get through back on the streets."

So, you do whatever you can do to please that person or the people.

- She is in a constant state of fear.

She never knows when he's gonna come back, when he is gonna bust down her door.

He's done so many things to her.

- He threw a rock through my kid's window, then he just proceeded to kick in my front door and knock it off his hinges.

And then he took the police on a high speed chase.

- Recently, she heard a bang on her door, and there was a dead rat in a bag.

And that was after we went through the domestic violence restraining order, and it was served.

So, then that happened.

So, it was, I think, a very clear sign.

There's a dead rat in a bag, you know, it's sending a message.

And that made us both just in a lot of fear, and we really honed down, and we're like, "Okay, we need to get you moved because that's like a direct threat."

- They do a test where they tell you the likely outcome of your abuse.

And so I rate it pretty high to be unalived by my abuser.

(suspenseful music continues) It's still kind of hard...

It's still kind of hard to accept that somebody who could tell you they love you and be with you for so long, but wanna unalive you.

I rated pretty high on that test and it didn't stop there.

It continued to go.

I had a police officer tell me one time, "How long are you gonna take this until you have a tag on your toe?"

(suspenseful music continues) He says I'm his property.

(suspenseful music continues) - I was new in the agency, it was the Stroll.

And then within the last, probably what, four or five years, it's been renamed to the Blade.

- [Michelle] It's always been the Blade since I could remember.

- What we have throughout this area is in, just depending on what time of the day, obviously, it's a little bit earlier right now, we will have upwards of... We were out here Thursday night last week and we had 12 to 15 young ladies who were in the area.

And specifically, this area is where we see a lot of our juveniles come.

We know her.

And that's why she looked at me and looked away quickly.

24 hours a day in this area, you will find a someone being trafficked.

- And so I appreciate what the sheriffs do by asking an advocate to come along with them.

- The biggest thing I think that we took away from our partnership with Michelle and Family Justice Center was it's okay to be a human being.

And for these women specifically, they're going to respond better if you come in at a way that is you're just another human having a conversation with another human.

Because for their entire lives, they've been dehumanized either by socioeconomic standpoints or their pimps have have told them they're not worthy.

- I feel that the most vulnerable time, and I know this because I've been through it, is when you are getting stopped, cited, and arrested.

And back in the day, there were no advocates in the cars.

There were no other services or organizations addressing trafficking.

That I do not work for law enforcement.

That is the first thing that I say.

Like, "Hey, I know, you know, the looks, but I am not law enforcement and I do not work for them."

That is the first thing that I say.

- [Nate] And we encourage it.

And what we will say as soon as we contact is we have an advocate with us.

- Yeah.

- [Nate] We want you to talk to the advocate.

You don't have to talk to us.

You can be mad at us, whatever.

But we have an advocate, and do you wanna speak with an advocate?

- Yeah.

And most of the time they'll say, "Yeah."

One of our victims, she's 16 years old, and just talking about it still chokes me up, but she's attempted suicide three different times.

And it's hard.

And to know that the average life expectancy of these, especially the young ladies, is 7 to 10 years.

We met her at 16.

She's 18 now.

She won't make it to 30.

And she's trapped in this life and she cannot escape.

And drug addiction, the constant trauma from the rapes, it kills you a little bit inside.

And I talked to Michelle a lot about, you know, I just really wish that we could do more, but we have so many of these young ladies who can't see another way out.

(upbeat music) - Well, these cases, you're talking 800,000 page reports.

Their volume is, because there's so much information, the DA wants to prosecute these cases.

So, it'll tie up deputies for weeks on one case, going back, interviewing the victims, doing a lot of research on the record.

So, they're really time-intensive, but they're important cases because you can't put the value on a girl's life.

This goes on 24/7.

And Family Justice Center has been out there working with us, with our detectives hand in hand, to try and change the narrative with it.

You've got five or six task forces in Sacramento County that go after traffickers, but they're hard to get because they're so insulated.

And the girls don't want to turn on them for fear.

And that's because they go back to that trafficker.

They have so much power.

And it's really hard to to think about that, but they brutalize these girls and the girls are scared of them.

And even when they're free and they're safe at home, they still were in the back of their mind.

Will that trafficker come from you?

(gentle music) (gentle music) - I heard he was looking for me a while back, but I'm not trying to seek him out good.

Last time I talked to him was a little bit after I got to the Family Justice Center and he said that if he finds me, he's gonna hurt me.

And yeah, but I don't come back to him and he loves me and all that.

You know, How do you love somebody you're just gonna tell him that you're gonna hurt him?

(gentle music continues) - Hey, how are you?

- [Laura] How are you doing?

- Good to see you this morning.

- [Laura] Hi!

- The biggest things I run into are complex post-traumatic stress disorder and trauma bonding or trauma course detachment.

And I would argue vehemently that either of those things will tie one of my patients to their trafficker as strong as any metal chain could.

We're dealing with individuals with days, weeks, months, years, even decades of trauma, abuse, exploitation.

To think they don't need our ongoing help from a medical standpoint, I think is just really, really very naive.

And what we found is that when we're able to do that, when we're able to kind of bridge that gap, we're really hitting certain factors that are going to lead to long-term success and recovery of this patient population.

We can take care of those physical needs.

We can take care of the burns, the, you know, bruises, the lacerations, the abscesses.

We can take care of the sexually transmitted infections.

We can deal with all of the physical needs concurrent while we treat the complex post-traumatic justice disorder while we treat the trauma body.

(machine clacking) If you're gonna be labeled as a piece of property, you're not a person and you're looking at that in the mirror every day, or you're looking at it 'cause it's on your hand, again, somewhere very visible, that's just a constant reminder of the trauma, the abuse, the exploitation you've been through.

So, being able to remove that, you know, obviously, a huge, huge part of that person's recovery.

You know, it's very emotional.

(Ronald clears throat) A lot of tears, you know, it's good though.

It's good stuff.

(gentle music continues) (gentle music) - [Michelle] We have a wonderful partnership with CASH.

They're amazing.

Mostly survivor led organization.

And so once a month we get to talk about our clients.

Hey, Calissa.

- Hi.

- How are you?

We have a safe location that we share, and there is issues that come up, right?

And so how as case managers can we come together and do some conflict resolution.

So, it's just a space and a safe space for us to come together, get our ideas out there.

Come up with new ideas on how to better serve our clients.

- One thing we've been talking about a lot as a staff is keeping the houses stocked.

- Are we just showing up regularly so that, that accountability of, oh, somebody's gonna come- - Yeah.

Absolutely.

- Whenever.

- What were you guys think?

- That's a place where we can all come together and help each other with resources, supporting each other.

(gentle music continues) - One of my daughters, she met a boy that just had got outta prison, and he's, I guess a manager, and she's now, she's out there prostituting herself.

(floor thudding) It's not gonna get better.

"You know, it's not gonna get better.

It's gonna get worse," I told her.

And then my other oldest daughter, she told me she is... Oh, she just told me last night, as a matter of fact, that she's on drugs with this guy that she just met.

And she's not selling herself, but she's on drugs and she says he's abusing her too.

That's what she told me last night.

And she's like, "Don't tell him, mom."

But, you know, I'm thinking, I'm about to tell her, I'm about to put him out there for the whole world right now.

You know, I got one that's out there and she's walking the streets and she's walking, she's walking the streets, selling herself.

And then I got another one that's being abused and doing drugs.

You know, when I saw him, I'm just like, "Wow."

And now it's all just coming back, kicking me in my ass, you know?

And so that's even makes it even worse because all the stuff that I put them through and they seen, and now that they're older and I'm older and they're living their own lives, it is all falling back on me now.

And that's another reason why I'm trying to change my life because it's all falling back on me, all everything that I've done to them.

And I'm just like, "Wow, this is a real swift kick in the face."

- I'm super hopeful.

I know she has this, she wants it, and she's put the step work in.

So, I can't want more for my clients than they want for their selves, you know?

I will work as hard though, as they work for themselves to get where they want.

And she has just been accountable for herself and for her surroundings.

She has been a woman of her word.

When she says something, she does it.

She follows through and she takes suggestions.

I'll never tell anyone what to do, but I will highly recommend and I will highly suggest.

And I let people know, "Hey, at the end of the day, it's your life.

You get to make the decisions."

(gentle music) (wall thudding) - Hey, Chip.

- [Edith] Hey, can I talk to you for a second?

- Yeah.

Shenevla got approved for the new house and she has her keys.

- [Michelle] Yeah.

- We were able to help her with her deposit.

- Did Laura take care of the check?

- Yep.

So, now she's in a really good spot where we finally found apartment for her and she has her keys, so it's getting her into a new home.

However, we were here in this same exact spot in the summer of this year.

So, it's more about focusing on her safety planning now and just like really embedding it in her head, that, like, you know, is this something that you want to keep doing every six months?

Like, this is no way to live.

- So, with their help, I was able to build myself up, where now I can fully believe I can be a mom, 'cause I wasn't taught.

I can fully know that I can say no and not...

I could be okay once I say no.

Like, you know, I don't have to accept being abused or took an advantage of just for a place to stay.

- You're gonna need the proof of service.

- [Shenevla] And that's why a lot of us young women do it.

- So, the restraining order.

- Sometimes strangers can be closer than your family.

Sometime a stranger could want more for you than your own mother, your father, your sister, your brother.

And so I'm thankful that they don't just have it as a job.

Like, what they do is not just a job.

I know when I'm talking to them and I'm opening up to them and we're problem-solving.

They're looking at me as a real person and they have compassion and they want to see me do good as well as I want to instead of judging me or writing me off, like, "Oh, you've been through this before, you're gonna do it again."

And most people do that.

It's a really beautiful feeling.

Like, my family was homeless at one point due to victimization.

And so, like, I remember when my mother was able to, like, have the keys to our apartment.

So, it just brings back those feelings of, like, joy.

And I'm just so happy for her because this is such a huge step.

Her and her children need the space to, like, grow and, you know, live and enjoy and celebrate life.

And to me, like, her having that key is her opening up the opportunity to just live life and be happy with her children and nurture them and have beautiful memories.

And that's all really that I want for my clients at the end of the day is I just want them to, to be happy.

Sorry.

I just want them to be happy and they deserve that.

They deserve the world.

(gentle music continues) - We've worked with a lot of folks.

We love the Family Justice Center for what they do and the expertise and experience they have in dealing with victims that are being trafficked.

Bar none, they're the best, in my opinion.

In Sacramento County, they offer the most services.

So, we need more like that.

They need more funding because the need is there.

- Sacramento is my community, and I love my community, and I want people to be healthy and safe and happy.

And there's a real need.

It's always been out there.

So, trafficking and prostitution and pimping, it's always been out here.

There's just now a light being shined on it.

And so I hope it's not a fad, you know, that dies out 'cause it's gonna be there with or without the recognition.

- Just being able to know that I was able to, like, support somebody through their journey and just watch them blossom because these women have so much to offer the world.

And I always tell my clients, like, "I don't want anything from you."

You know, so many people out in the world, they just want to use them, manipulate them, victimize them because they want their, their power.

You know, they want to take their beauty, they like wanna strip everything away from them.

And like, what I tell my clients is, like, "I don't want anything from you.

I just want you to be able to achieve your goals and your dreams."

(gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music) (gentle music continues) (gentle music) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) - [Narrator] Production for this program made possible by Caity Maple, Parkwest Casinos, and Holt of California.

(gentle music continues) (upbeat music)