HUMAN TRAFFICKING: New coalition combats this crime here

Jan. 19—TRAVERSE CITY — Darryl Nelson knows something that many local residents don't believe: Human trafficking is a real, growing problem in northern Michigan.

"People think it doesn't happen here because we're not a big city," said Nelson, who represents District 6 on the Grand Traverse County Board of Commissioners. "But I'm here to tell you it is happening here — and quite recently. These criminals will go to any length to control their victims. The level of deceit and manipulation they use is stunning."

Human trafficking is a form of modern slavery that occurs in every state and region, studies show. Three categories account for most of those crimes in the United States: sex trafficking, forced labor and domestic servitude. Forced participation in pornography is another notable example.

Traverse City's status as a major tourist destination with hundreds of hotel rooms makes it a more likely venue for human trafficking, according to law enforcement officials. Criminals transport vulnerable women from Grand Rapids and the Detroit area to northern Michigan for prostitution. Forced labor in agricultural areas also has occurred.

Now a coalition of local agencies and nonprofits is joining forces to fight this crime.

Starting in early February, the Coalition to Combat Human Trafficking will offer in-depth training for those on the front lines. Topics include how to recognize the signs of human trafficking, how to interact with suspected victims and how to report such cases to law enforcement.

"All of us need to learn the signs of human trafficking and how to respond safely," said Linda Solem of Catholic Human Services in Traverse City, who is helping to organize multiple training programs over the next six months.

"Don't believe the mythology — human trafficking isn't limited by socio-economic status," she added. "It could be your neighbor down the street or someone you know...Online activity makes it easier than ever to lure young people into the darkness."

The coalition's first three-day session, called "Healing Hands," will be held Feb. 7-9 at the United Way office, 4075 Copper Ridge Dr. in Traverse City. The training will be led by Jarrett Luckett, executive director of Exploit No More, a nonprofit based in the Milwaukee area. That program is funded by state grants via the Northern Michigan Regional Entity.

This first training session is best suited for front-line human service providers, such as health care workers, clinicians, counselors, addiction recovery coaches and various local organizations, including Northern Lakes Community Mental Health and area hospitals.

A different training program for law enforcement professionals will take place June 6-7, also at United Way. Led by Dan Nash, a retired state police officer, that two-day program is intended for police and sheriff officers, as well as prosecutors and advocates for marginalized groups, from throughout northern Michigan.

Nash is the founder of the Human Trafficking Training Center based in Springfield, Mo. When it comes to human trafficking, he said, law enforcement training must go beyond awareness of the problem.

"In order to be effective, law enforcement needs to learn actual skills so they're equipped to conduct investigations that ensure arrests and prosecutions," Nash said. "To use an analogy, we can't expect law enforcement officers to arrest drunk drivers if all we do is tell them what a drunk driver looks like.

"The same is true for human trafficking," he added. "Officers need practical skills they can use in the field. ...For example, knowing how to properly interview a possible victim or offender, knowing how to set up various proactive operations, or even how to write up the proper reports."

Human trafficking is one of the fastest-growing crimes in America, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. At the federal level, such cases soared 49% from 2011 to 2021. During that same period, the number of people prosecuted for human trafficking doubled. Defendants were charged with crimes ranging from peonage and slavery to forced labor and sex trafficking.

Statistics show that Michigan isn't immune to that trend, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. In 2021, authorities identified 429 victims this state. About 89 percent of those cases involved sex trafficking, sometimes called forced or captive prostitution. The remaining 11 percent of cases involved forced or unpaid labor, sometimes in combination with sexual exploitation.

NHTH data said the most common venues for sex trafficking in Michigan are: Hotels and motels — 13 percent; residential settings — 11 percent; pornography — 8 percent; illicit massage parlors or "spa" businesses — 8 percent; online ad venues (not specified) — 6 percent; strip clubs and hostess bars — 1 percent; other / unknown — 53 percent.

About 90 percent of Michigan victims identified are female and 10 percent male, NHTH data shows. Approximately 70 percent were U.S. citizens (born here or naturalized) and 30 percent were citizens of another country.

NHTH is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and is operated by Polaris, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization.

Northern Michigan is clearly part of that bigger picture. Over the last two years, law enforcement officials in the region have made more than a dozen arrests involving human trafficking and sexual exploitation, including cases in Traverse City, Alpena, Charlevoix and Cadillac.

Many cases of human trafficking go unnoticed and unreported because of the lack of awareness or understanding, they said. Data collection is spotty and often fragmented, Solem said, which is why creating a standardized intake process is so important. Once that data is available, maps of trafficking activity can be generated for the community.

"When we build awareness and collect data in a consistent way, it helps everyone target the problem more effectively," she said. "Another key goal for our training is to teach each organization how to implement what we learn and harness the available resources. It's about sharing and networking to maximize our responses."

The family connection in human trafficking is one of the most shocking and misunderstood part of the problem, Nash said.

"One third to 40 percent of human trafficking is familial, which means a parent trafficking their child, or a husband trafficking his wife," he noted. "It could be a fiancee or girlfriend being trafficked."

The common denominator is vulnerability — not race, gender or ethnicity, Nash added. A number of factors, such as poverty, loneliness, addiction, homelessness, prior sexual abuse and a lack of feeling loved, can make a person more vulnerable to traffickers.

"These predators look for vulnerable people, then offer them false love to build up trust so they can trap the victims into a situation they can't get out of," he said. "Many of the migrants coming across our border are also vulnerable to sexual or labor exploitation. They often have no money left after having been exploited by the drug cartels and 'coyotes' [transit criminals] in Mexico."

The No. 1 risk factor for teens in both northern Michigan and the nation is having a smartphone, Nash said: "There's a big fallacy that it's about your kid being abducted from a [local store] parking lot — that's not how it happens. Having a smartphone is the biggest risk factor by far. That's how almost all of the manipulation, grooming and exploitation [of young people] begins."

Law enforcement officials who combat human trafficking almost never allow their children or teens to use a smartphone, Nash added. "It's much better to give those kids a flip phone without internet access. That way they can make calls safely without the web risks, at least via phone."

The local hotel industry is beefing up training for front-line staff so they can understand the signs of human trafficking and respond appropriately.

Jonathan Pack, 40, is director of operations for a northern Michigan hospitality company that operates hotels in Traverse City, Gaylord and Sault Ste. Marie. He also worked for many years as a front desk clerk at a local hotel.

"We're teaching our team what to do if they are suspicious that something may be happening — especially our front desk staff and housekeepers," Pack said. "For instance, if a housekeeper is making up a room but sees no luggage anywhere, that could be a sign of human trafficking. We encourage them to contact a team member first to discuss those suspicions, then call law enforcement."

Pack serves on an advisory group for Choice Hotels, a national chain that operates name-brand hotels around the country. He noted that the company now requires human trafficking awareness training for its employees.

To reach independent hotel owners in the area, Pack and others work with Traverse City Tourism to spread the word about the hazards and signs of human trafficking.

Antrim County resident Becky Meeker was herself a victim of human trafficking. She was lured into the strip club scene by a "friend" who suggested she could make more money that way. Meeker started out as a waitress, but soon became an exotic dancer.

"Drugs were involved and I eventually became trapped in that lifestyle," she recalled. "It turned out my 'friend' wasn't really a friend at all. He was getting kickbacks for bringing young women into the strip clubs."

Eventually, Meeker escaped that exploitation and now works as a nurse. To help others trapped in human trafficking, she also leads "White As Snow" ministries, which is affiliated with the Kalkaska Church of Christ. Its mission is to help those working in the sex industry to find a way out. The group also helps those with addiction and mental health issues.

People who think northern Michigan is "insulated" from sex trafficking because of geography or demographics need to know that "definitely isn't true," Meeker said: "Walking down the street [in Traverse City], I've seen older men with much younger women who looked frightened. You have to be careful and know how to respond safely."

Sex trafficking by out-of-towners seems more prevalent in the summer months, she said, adding that forced prostitution in the wintertime is often associated with drug addiction and/or mental health issues.

Nelson got involved in the Coalition to Combat Human Trafficking after hearing Solem speak at a county commission meeting. "Sometimes God is pushing you in a direction that you may be reluctant to go, but it also feels right to act on that push," he said. "That's what happened to me."

For those who doubt sexual trafficking occurs in the Traverse City area, Nelson recalled a harrowing story about a local waitress who was approached by a man claiming to be a world-renowned surgeon: "When she was bringing over some wine to his table, the man grabbed her hand and said: 'Oh, you have the hands of a surgeon...you should go into surgery.'"

The scammer gave the waitress a flyer and suggested that they meet to discuss her future career in medicine. The bogus flyer listed an address in the Miami, Florida, area.

Nelson took the initiative to look it up, only to find that the man lived in Chicago. The address given on the flyer was in a neighborhood with tire repair shops and similar establishments — not a doctor's office in sight.

Human traffickers often use fraud, fear and coercion to lure their victims into captivity, officials said.

For example, they might invite a young woman to come to a local hotel to find out about "modeling opportunities" or they might offer temporary employment work to homeless people. In such cases, the victims may be quickly transported out of the area and kept incommunicado from their families.

Nelson got involved in the Coalition to Combat Human Trafficking after hearing Solem speak at a county commission meeting. "Sometimes God is pushing you in a direction that you may be reluctant to go, but it also feels right to act on that push," he said. "That's what happened to me."