Heather and Haley from Red Oak Hope spoke to us on August 16th. Heather gave us the definition of human trafficking, which is the use of force, fraud or coercion to exploit the vulnerability of their victims with the result of an economic benefit to the trafficker but not to the victim. She gave us a list of vulnerabilities that traffickers work to exploit, such as trauma/abuse, lack of social support, poverty and lack of opportunity, and unstable housing/homelessness. Victims’ experiences are on a continuum from subtle coercion all the way to force and kidnapping. However, 93 percent of victims know their trafficker and are not kidnapped by strangers. The healing journey for victims is also not linear. Complex PTSD can occur and it takes time to heal. Over 50 million people have been trafficked or exploited worldwide, with 313,000 in Texas. Haley told story of Red Oak and how it began from an interaction with one trafficking victim. In Austin, they started helping provide transitional housing along with vocational training support. Their focus is on restoration, prevention and intervention through partnerships in the community. They showed us a video about their transitional housing and the support that goes along with it - like building life skills. Their goal is to walk alongside the victims and help them through the process of healing. Hailey and Heather also provided information about what to do if we suspect that someone is being trafficked. Getting out is not easy or simple. Monthly donors are the bulk of the financial support for Red Oak Hope, with their big fundraising gala taking place on September 24th this year. They also get support through some grants. For more information, go to www.redoakhope.org/austin.