READING, Pa. – In recognition of World Day against Trafficking in Persons, the Berks County Board of Commissioners on Thursday heard a presentation from representatives of North Star Initiative, the Berks County Human Trafficking Task Force, and ZOE, an international anti-trafficking organization.
The World Day against Trafficking in Persons is observed annually on July 30.
The day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2013 to raise global awareness, protect victims, and stop the crime of modern-day slavery.
Melinda Clark, CEO of North Star Initiative, said progress is being made in Berks County because of the collaborative efforts with the district attorney’s office and the agencies that make up the Berks County Human Trafficking Task Force.
“We are capable of being a community that can see an end to trafficking as we also empower survivors to reclaim their lives,” Clark said.
“I think we are all aware that trafficking is the crime of buying and selling women, men, and children to generate a profit off their bodies through the crime of illicit commercial sex,” Clark added. “Many people believe it only happens in other countries or only happens at a border.”
The CEO said the issue is actively happening in both Berks and Lancaster counties.
Clark said a common misconception is that trafficking always takes victims by force.
“What is actually happening, and is happening in Berks County, is trafficking through online social media targeting of vulnerable youth and young adults, especially where traffickers present themselves as someone who is there to satisfy basic human needs, whether it’s connection, employment, or love,” Clark said.
Clark said people are often surprised to learn that traffickers are often known to the victims as a family member, a trusted caregiver, a peer, or a romantic partner.
“Many of the victims that we have encountered, specifically in Berks through stings, believed that the person that they thought was their partner was actually exploiting them to generate a profit,” Clark said.
Clark said some populations are disproportionately affected: minors, the LGBTQIA+ community, unhoused persons, migrants, refugees, persons of color, and people with disabilities.
“The reasons are the factors that you would imagine: a gap in care or a single mom who cannot make rent,” Clark said.
“She is vulnerable to somebody who says, ‘I have a solution to your financial need; you don’t want to be homeless. If you work for me, then you don’t have to be homeless, and I’ll take care of you.’ Where vulnerabilities exist, a criminal is looking to exploit that vulnerability,” Clark added.
“As a community, we have a great opportunity to continue to put great energy into closing the vulnerability gaps that are in our community as well as educating our neighbors about how that exploitation can turn into a situation that is far greater than they ever expected or imagined it would be,” she said.
“We have spoken to many victims who thought that they were going to do this once to make rent, and it turned into a situation that they found themselves unable to get out of,” Clark shared.
Brad Ortenzi, East Coast representative for ZOE and the task force coordinator for Berks and Lancaster counties, said the task force responds through prosecution and law enforcement, victim services and community outreach.
“We know, especially in the trenches of human trafficking, once someone is trafficked, it’s a ton of work to get them out, and the statistics are not great for how they are going to do later in life,” Ortenzi said.
“But we do everything we can for them. This is a great perk of having a task force that is run by the district attorney’s office, which has the influence and power to connect the task force with all the agencies in the county, children and youth, and juvenile probation and adult probation,” he added.
“Our privilege is working daily with agencies that work with survivors face-to-face and ensuring that they are safe and stable and loved,” Ortenzi said.
Meg McCallum, assistant district attorney, said the partnership in the task force is essential.
“We arrest people who are trafficking, who are buyers of these horrible services that are out there,” McCallum said.
“What we really need are those victim services and those places where we can place those men, women and children who are survivors and victims of this horrible crime,” she added.
“We do have a trafficking task force, and I want everyone to know that, and tell friends, family, loved ones and anybody that you possibly can that we are out here, that we are a service and are a resource to not only intervene if you believe someone in your life is being trafficked or is involved or might be vulnerable to being trafficked,” McCallum said.
Board of commissioners Chair Christian Y. Leinbach said that years ago, he was attending a National Association of Counties conference in Washington, where a speaker related a story about a Lancaster County farm family that was in financial trouble and ended up selling their daughter to a man from Bucks County.
“That hit me like a ton of bricks,” Leinbach said.
“This is a real issue. It is a tragedy, but more importantly, we can do something about it, and we are doing something, he added.
“Get the information out there into the community so that people who are in trouble or know people who are in trouble know where to go,” Leinbach said.
“If somebody just doesn’t know where to go, call the district attorney’s office. Get help because the help is here,” he shared.