Community Champion Spotlight: Maria-Isabella Pontoriero and Mary Anne Mushatt

To honor Human Trafficking Awareness Month, each week in January we will be highlighting 2 individuals who have gone above and beyond in the Greater New Orleans community to serve victims and survivors of human trafficking. This highlight is the “Community Champion Spotlight”. Each individual was nominated by Task Force members. Community champions represent a variety of different disciplines and perspectives from the anti-trafficking movement. 

Our fourth and final highlight of 2020 features individuals who are newer to the New Orleans anti-trafficking work, but are making a big impact with their efforts. Thank you MIP and and Mary Anne for all you do for our community! We're so lucky to have you in the Greater New Orleans community. 

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Maria-Isabella Pontoriero (MIP)

Human Trafficking Social Worker

New Orleans Children’s Advocacy Center/Audrey Hepburn CARE Center, programs of Children’s Hospital New Orleans

"It is a rewarding experience to work with so many people who have the common goal of keeping our community, most importantly the children, in a safe and heal”

What is your role in the Greater New Orleans community?
My role at the NOCAC/CARE Center is to assist in the identification and response to child sex and labor trafficking within Orleans Parish at Children’s Hospital New Orleans; I do this through coordination of forensic interviews, forensic medical evaluations, and needed services. I provide extensive case management, crisis counseling, and safety planning (for suicidal ideation, self-harm, emotional safety, and living with in-home perpetrators) to high-risk victims, victims of child pornography, and sex and labor trafficking victims, and their non-offending caregivers. Within my role, I also coordinate a Survivor Services Child Trafficking Multidisciplinary Team called BRAVE (Building Resilience for All Victims of Exploitation), to review cases of high-risk and confirmed trafficking cases, and develop holistic treatment and service plans for child victims and their families. I am also a forensic interviewer.

What has been your most successful or memorable experience working in the anti-trafficking movement?
Collaborating with the Task Force has been one of the highlights so far within my career in the anti-trafficking movement. The Task Force has led the dialogue on labor trafficking and increased my own knowledge and competence in addressing labor trafficking. We definitely have a long way to go, but I look forward to increasing Children’s Hospital’s capacity to identify victims of labor trafficking, with the help of the Task Force.

What has been your favorite aspect of collaborating among task force partners?
Collaborating with the various departments at Children’s Hospital to ensure that all needs of sex and labor trafficking victims are assessed and addressed has been one of my favorite parts of my job! I have enjoyed training Children’s Hospital nurses and staff in identifying and responding to child trafficking, but also on how to engage youth who come through the Emergency Room at Children’s Hospital. The goal is to make our hospital a safe and supportive place where high-risk and trafficking victims know they can come to receive high-quality medical care, regardless of where they are in their disclosure process.

What are Task Force members saying about MIP?

"I can always count on MIP to treat every survivor with respect and value. She puts her whole heart into every case."

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Mary Anne Mushatt

Committee Chair, Private citizen

GNOHTTF Community Awareness Committee

"I now speak up about [trafficking] wherever I am."

What is your role in the Greater New Orleans community?
Helping get the word out to the general public that human trafficking is here in the Greater New Orleans area, and what the generous. Task Force members are doing to help survivors reclaim their lives.  And what the general public can do when trafficking is active in their neighborhood. I am also the Committee Chair for the Community Awareness Committee of the GNOHTTF.

What has been your favorite aspect of collaborating among task force partners?
The Awareness events of last year, hearing the Task Force members present to the City Council, and the gathering to celebrate and create community among providers later that night.

What has been your most memorable experience working in anti-trafficking?
Being inspired by the dedication and diversity of people working in this field.

Anything else you would like to add?
I now speak up about it [trafficking] wherever I am.

What are Task Force members saying about Mary Anne?

"Mary Anne has helped us get creative to reach the broader community."

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Community Champion Spotlight: Judge Joy Lobrano and Detective Kay Horne

To honor Human Trafficking Awareness Month, each week in January we will be highlighting 2 individuals who have gone above and beyond in the Greater New Orleans community to serve victims and survivors of human trafficking. This highlight is the “Community Champion Spotlight”. Each individual was nominated by Task Force members. Community champions represent a variety of different disciplines and perspectives from the anti-trafficking movement. 

Our third highlight features leaders who have committed years of work to the anti-trafficking movement in New Orleans. Both were nominated because of their long-term leadership, commitment to treating survivors with dignity, and dedication to collaboration specifically in the Greater NOLA community.

Thank you Detective Horne and Judge Lobrano for all you do for our community! We're so lucky to have you in the Greater New Orleans community. 

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Kay Horne

Detective, Task Force Officer

Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, New Orleans FBI Task Force

"It is a rewarding experience to work with so many people who have the common goal of keeping our community, most importantly the children, in a safe and healthy environment."

What is your role in the Greater New Orleans community?
I am a Detective with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office (JPSO) and Task Force Officer on the Violent Crimes Against Children/Human Trafficking New Orleans Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Task Force. I recover children and adults who have been trafficked for sexual or labor purposes and build an investigation from interviews, Intel and other resources to successfully locate, interview and arrest the traffickers for prosecution.

I have almost 23 years with the Sheriff's Office and almost 16 years of working Physical and Sexual abuse cases.  The last four years I have been with the FBI task force working mostly Juvenile Trafficking Cases, but other violent crimes against children and adults. 

What has been your most successful or memorable experience working in the anti-trafficking movement?
The amount of help, advice and assistance during the recovery of a juvenile trafficking victim.  Through the GNOHTTF I was able provide the juvenile victim with resources and victim services to assist her into transitioning back to a healthy, safe and protective environment, where she could thrive, finish school and successfully find employment.  Along with the arrest and prosecution of those who were trafficking her.

What has been your favorite aspect of collaborating among task force partners?
Being able to have a large network to contact for assistance during the investigation and prosecution stages.

Anything else you’d like to add?
It is a rewarding experience to work with so many people who have the common goal of keeping our community, most importantly the children, in a safe and healthy environment. 

What are Task Force members saying about Detective Horne?

“Kay is someone you can always count on to take the case”

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Judge Joy Lobrano

Judge

Louisiana Court of Appeal for the Fourth Circuit

"[Children] are a sign of hope, a sign of life, but also a 'diagnostic' sign, a marker indicating the health of families, society and the entire world.  Wherever children are accepted, loved, cared for and protected, the family is healthy, society is more healthy and the world is more human." 

-Pope Francis, Mass in Manger Square, Bethlehem, May 2014

What is your role in the Greater New Orleans community?
I am a judge on the Louisiana Court of Appeal for the Fourth Circuit and a 2011 founding board member of Eden House, which provides a long-term home and recovery, reentry, and restorative services and care to victims of human trafficking and is a movement to eradicate the trafficking and selling of human beings by creating systemic change.  In 2017, I was appointed by Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson to serve as her designee on the Louisiana Human Trafficking Prevention Commission and was elected Commission State Chair for 2018. I am a former First Assistant District Attorney and District Court Civil, Criminal, Family, and Juvenile Judge and a founder of the Community CARE Centers Model of Early Intervention for children and families providing resiliency-building, preventive, and protective services to vulnerable populations who are at-risk for trauma and adverse childhood experiences. I also teach 4th and 9th graders the Project LAW (Legal-thinking, Awareness, and Wellness) program, which I designed to give students tools and information needed to build resiliency and awareness to exploitation, victimization, and trauma that can disrupt their pursuit of happiness.

What has been your favorite aspect of collaborating among task force partners?
Being involved in the anti-trafficking movement affords me the opportunity to meet and collaborate with amazing individuals, including courageous and resilient survivors and compassionate and hardworking service providers, public servants, and advocates.  They all illuminate a bright light that has maintained its strength and radiance though this vicious evil wave of human trafficking.  These collaborative lights of brilliance and strength give me hope, inspiration, and certainty that the anti-trafficking movement in the greater New Orleans area lead by the NOLA HT Task Force and throughout Louisiana is strong and will reach its goal to eradicate all forms of human trafficking and replace indifference and trauma infliction with a spirit of respect for human dignity and the common good and with a collaborative movement of love and service to our most vulnerable populations and to individual who have experienced trauma.

What has been your most memorable experience working in anti-trafficking?
In 2019, Pope Francis and Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, invited me to attend the following two judges summits at the Academy in the Vatican City:  the First Pan-American Judges Summit on Social Justice and the Franciscan Doctrine and the Summit of African Women Judges and Prosecutors on Human Trafficking, Organ Trafficking, and Organized Crime.  At both summits, I met and collaborated with amazing individuals fighting human trafficking globally, especially in areas of civil unrest, which has left the vulnerable populations with little or no protection.  Despite some having far greater challenges to overcome, they all displayed the same bright light of hope that my colleagues radiant in Louisiana.  Their strength and compassion gave me continued inspiration and hope for our world. I shared the great works of the NOLA HT Task Force, the Louisiana Human Trafficking Commission, and Eden House Model of Restorative Care and the Community CARE Centers Models of Preventative and Protective Care.  These anti-trafficking and preventive initiatives were all well received, and I was again invited back to the Academy in February 2020 for a Workshop on Education: The Global Compact.  This workshop will tackle what Pope Francis calls the "globalization of indifference," which in its extreme form contributes to modern day slavery of children.  The workshop premise is that a proper education is perhaps a child's strongest barrier against poverty and trafficking and that children "are a sign of hope, a sign of life, but also a 'diagnostic' sign, a marker indicating the health of families, society and the entire world.  Wherever children are accepted, loved, cared for and protected, the family is healthy, society is more healthy and the world is more human."  Pope Francis, Mass in Manger Square, Bethlehem, May 2014.

What are Task Force members saying about Judge Lobrano?

"Judge Lobrano is unwavering in her commitment to protecting children in Louisiana."

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Community Champion Spotlight: Fahreta Muminovic and Ranie Thompson

To honor Human Trafficking Awareness Month, each week in January we will be highlighting 2 individuals who have gone above and beyond in the Greater New Orleans community to serve victims and survivors of human trafficking. This highlight is the “Community Champion Spotlight”. Each individual was nominated by Task Force members. Community champions represent a variety of different disciplines and perspectives from the anti-trafficking movement. 

Our second highlight features leaders in the legal services field. Both were nominated because of their leadership, commitment to treating survivors with dignity, and dedication to collaboration. They are Fahreta Muminovic of Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans and Ranie Thompson of CrescentCare.

Thank you Fahreta and Ranie for all you do for our community! We're so lucky to have you in the Greater New Orleans community. 

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Fahreta Muminovic

Senior Staff Attorney, Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans, Immigrant Legal Services

"My most memorable experiences have revolved around witnessing survivors regain control over their lives and develop agency."

What is your role in the Greater New Orleans community?
I am the T Visa point person at Catholic Charities, meaning I handle all aspects of trafficking survivors’ immigration cases. Our office routinely screens trafficking survivors for immigration relief and connect them with community resources. I help empower undocumented survivors to report their traffickers and collaborate with various law enforcement agencies to help survivors pursue justice. I frequently meet with community partners to establish connections, raise awareness regarding our services, and provide information regarding immigration options and consequences, to provide support for our vulnerable clientele.

What has been your most successful or memorable experience working in the anti-trafficking movement?
Within the anti-trafficking movement, my most memorable experiences have revolved around witnessing survivors regain control over their lives and develop agency. This would not be possible without all members of the task force cooperating and understanding the particular nuanced needs of our clients. Without organizations like the Family Justice Center and Jewish Family Service, survivors would not be able to endure the strained immigration legal process that exists.

What has been your favorite aspect of collaborating among task force partners?
I have enjoyed the GNOHTTF providing a forum where diverse organizations and agencies can come together, exchange ideas, and strive to understand one another in an effort to reach the ultimate goal of creating awareness, providing protection, and establishing security for our trafficking survivors.

What are Task Force members saying about Fahreta?

"Fahreta is engaged and committed to ensuring immigrant survivors have access to all the support they need."

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Ranie Thompson

Attorney, Director of Legal Services, CrescentCare

“If you have come here to help me you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” ― Lilla Watson

What is your role in the Greater New Orleans community?
As an attorney and advocate, I work with Greater New Orleans Human Trafficking Task Force to identify and coordinate legal resources in the community to assist survivors through direct legal services, outreach and education. I am also the Chair of the New Legal Services Working Group.

What has been your favorite aspect of collaborating among task force partners?
It’s refreshing to see agencies that are usually at odds unite be on the same side, unite around this common issue and work to bring an end to human trafficking in our community.To this end, I frequently return to a favorite scripture and quote. “He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8. “If you have come here to help me you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” ― Lilla Watson

What has been your most memorable experience working in anti-trafficking?
My most memorable experience is the first encounter I had with a client who disclosed their trafficking story to me during an initial consultation on an unrelated matter.  My work has always been holistic in nature, with the purpose of providing services to the whole client.  During the conversation, we talked about several legal challenges the client had and finally, the client connected the dots for me with the disclosure. I immediately realized how little I knew about this issue locally, nationally and globally. I was also moved by the lack of resources available to assist the client with several issues identified as part of my efforts to help them move forward.Issues regarding income stability, housing stability, employment barriers, discrimination, access to healthcare, and general health and wellness are not new to my clients, many of whom are low-income, impoverished and marginalized.  Working with vulnerable populations, I see these social determinants of health and work to address them through direct legal assistance and advocacy.  However, with this client, I had to add the human trafficking layer and look for new ways to advocate and fight.  Sadly, my ability to help was limited for a number of reasons.That single encounter is what prompted me to reach out to the GNOHTTF and others working in the community to become educated and to look for opportunities to support the work already being done by leveraging resources as a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Access to Justice Committee and in my capacity as Director of Legal Services at CrescentCare.

What are Task Force members saying about Ranie?

"Ranie sees the intersections of survivors' needs in the New Orleans community, and she brings people together to serve the whole survivor."

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Community Champion Spotlight: Ariel Gutierrez and Ruth Goldberg

To honor Human Trafficking Awareness Month, each week in January we will be highlighting 2 individuals who have gone above and beyond in the Greater New Orleans community to serve victims and survivors of human trafficking. This highlight is the “Community Champion Spotlight”. Each individual was nominated by Task Force members. Community champions represent a variety of different disciplines and perspectives from the anti-trafficking movement. 

Our first highlight features members of funded GNOHTTF service provider agencies. Both were nominated because of their leadership, commitment to treating victims/survivors with dignity, and dedication to collaboration. They have raised the bar on survivor services in New Orleans. They are Ariel Gutierrez of the New Orleans Family Justice Center, and Ruth Goldberg of Jewish Family Service of Greater new Orleans.

Thank you Ariel and Ruth for all you do for our community! We're so lucky to have you in the Greater New Orleans community. 

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Ariel Gutierrez

Case Manager, New Orleans Family Justice Center

"Having someone present with [survivors] on an ongoing basis can be a crucial part of accessing help that they might have otherwise not felt empowered to."

What is your role in the Greater New Orleans community?
Connecting survivors to local support services, and when appropriate helping them advocate for their needs in medical/legal/law enforcement settings. When clients experience long-term or multiple victimizations, their ability to engage with or access services that allow them to thrive can be diminished, and it’s my job to help them connect the dots as much as possible. Because trafficking survivors often come from marginalized or vulnerable communities, having someone present with them on an ongoing basis can be a crucial part of accessing help that they might have otherwise not felt empowered to. Although we all know that there is a broad spectrum of trafficking survivors (what they look like, their previous life experiences, etc.), a client’s social capital and mobility can have a significant impact on their ongoing/long-term recovery and well-being.

What has been your most successful experience working in the anti-trafficking movement?
Anytime a client’s case makes significant progress is memorable – when a valuable resource pulls through, or we get confirmation that someone is interested in taking their case, or that legal support for them becomes a possibility. In these moments it can feel like all the puzzle pieces are starting to come together, especially when the client has more intensive needs.

What has been your favorite aspect of collaborating among task force partners?
Building relationships with task force partners, and working together toward a common goal, has been incredibly rewarding. There are many task force members that I’d never otherwise cross paths with or have an opportunity to collaborate with (especially when their job descriptions are so different from my own); when we’re able to collaborate in service of a common goal, and addressing this common goal from different perspectives, is something that might not have been possible were it not for the GNOHTTF.

What are Task Force members saying about Ariel?

"Ariel's willingness to cooperation with other organizations has improved service coordination in New Orleans."

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Ruth Goldberg

Bilingual Case Manager, Jewish Family Service of Greater New Orleans

"It is ultimately our actions, rather than our words, that will prove to survivors of human trafficking that we honor their dignity, self-worth and humanity."

What is your role in the Greater New Orleans community?
I provide intensive case management or clinical counseling to survivors of human trafficking with the understanding that their right to self-determination will always be respected.  The majority of the survivors whom I have helped have been from Central America. 

What has been your favorite aspect of collaborating among task force partners?
It is always inspiring to come across other individuals who are just as passionate, committed and determined to be of service to survivors of human trafficking. I am so impressed by and deeply grateful to organizations such as Family Justice Center and Eden House for the absolutely incredible, holistic work that they are doing in assisting survivors of human trafficking. It was Margaret Mead, an American cultural anthropologist, who said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Anything else you'd like to share?
This work is extremely difficult – resources tend to be very limited and systems are often strained, especially for foreign born survivors of human trafficking. For these reasons, I believe that if there is anything I can reasonably do or advocate for, at my level as a Case Manager or Counselor, to reduce “roadblocks” or “barriers” to assistance for survivors of human trafficking, then I should try my very best to do it – For it is ultimately our actions, rather than our words, that will prove to survivors of human trafficking that we honor their dignity, self-worth and humanity.

What are Task Force members saying about Ruth?

"Ruth is persistent in her quest to ensure every survivor has access to the services that they need. She's creative, and collaborative, and kind."

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Community Champion Spotlight: Laura Murphy and Nadia Lee

To honor Human Trafficking Awareness Month, each week in January we will be highlighting 2 individuals who have gone above and beyond in the Greater New Orleans community to serve victims and survivors of human trafficking. This highlight is the “Community Champion Spotlight”. Each individual was nominated by Task Force members. Community champions represent a variety of different disciplines and perspectives from the anti-trafficking movement. 

Our fourth highlight features two community members who are sharing the truth about trafficking experiences in unique ways. Dr. Laura Murphy conducts research on human trafficking, highlighting survivor experiences and leading the community through evidence-based understandings of the crime. Nadia Lee is a Survivor Leader and Eden House employee who shares her lived experience to provide prevention education to at-risk youth.

Thank you Nadia and Dr. Murphy for all you do for our community! We're so lucky to have you in the Greater New Orleans community. 

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Laura Murphy

Associate Professor and Director, Modern Slavery Research Project, Loyola University New Orleans

"The responsibility for addressing trafficking is on all our shoulders as a society because it only exists because we do not provide adequate resources and jobs for our citizens."

What is your role in the Greater New Orleans community?
I serve as the Evaluator and training consultant for the task force. Through the Modern Slavery Research Project, I provide research and training for organizations that address human trafficking.

What has been your most successful experience working in the anti-trafficking movement?
The work that has been most meaningful has been conducting the study of trafficking among homeless youth in the city. The young people we interviewed for that project provided invaluable insight into the economic roots of trafficking in our community and the vulnerabilities young people in our community face. That study provided the groundwork for our extension of that study across the United States and Canada, leading to a blueprint for addressing trafficking among homeless youth.

What has been your favorite aspect of collaborating among task force partners?
It has been encouraging to see collaboration across sectors increase in the eight years I’ve been working on this issue in the city. I believe that everyone can agree that no one should be exploited or unpaid at work. The responsibility for addressing trafficking is on all our shoulders as a society because it only exists because we do not provide adequate resources and jobs for our citizens. I am heartened by the increased commitment of people across all industries and communities to ensure that everyone has the resources they need to protect themselves against forced labor situations.

What are Task Force members saying about Laura?

"Dr. Murphy leads the community with her commitment to truth-telling. Her contributions to the community have illuminated the needs of vulnerable populations like homeless youth.”

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Nadia Lee

Prevention Program Coordinator, Eden House NOLA

“The more we as a community equip our youth with the knowledge, tools, and resources that are needed, hopefully we’ll start to see a decline in the number of teens being forced into that life.”

What is your role in the Greater New Orleans community?
I provide prevention education and outreach throughout the Greater New Orleans Area. As a Survivor Leader, I leverage my story to educate at-risk youth on the issue of human trafficking. Gearing them with necessary tools to identify, resist, and prevent human trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation, and gender-based violence.

What has been your favorite aspect of collaborating among task force partners?
My favorite part is, and always has been, working with the youth of our community. Clearing up misconceptions and myths that are associated with and around human trafficking, really opens their eyes in a way that they begin to understand the importance of being aware of harmful people and their surroundings at all times

Anything else you'd like to share?
We cannot overlook our youth. The average age that a teen is forced into sex trafficking is 12 – 14 years old. This movement starts with these boys and girls. The more we as a community equip them with the knowledge, tools, and resources that are needed, hopefully we’ll start to see a decline in the number of teens being forced into that life.

What are Task Force members saying about Nadia?

“Nadia is a warrior who is sharing her truth to help others. Her leadership and strength shows everyone how powerful survivors are!”

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Community Champion Spotlight: Storm Ehlers and Samantha Sahl

To honor Human Trafficking Awareness Month, each week in January we will be highlighting 2 individuals who have gone above and beyond in the Greater New Orleans community to serve victims and survivors of human trafficking. This highlight is the “Community Champion Spotlight”. Each individual was nominated by Task Force members. Community champions represent a variety of different disciplines and perspectives from the anti-trafficking movement. 

Our second highlight features innovators who are bringing new promising practices to the New Orleans juvenile justice system. This dynamic duo is helping to make the Orleans Parish Juvenile Court a leader in trauma-informed human trafficking response for system involved youth. These young professionals were nominated because of their commitment to evidence-based practices, and continuous engagement and collaboration with community members.

Thank you Storm and Sam for all you do for our community! We're so lucky to have you in the Greater New Orleans community. 

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Storm Ehlers

Court Attorney, Orleans Parish Juvenile Court

""In this field, information is the fire clearing the fields for sustainable new growth, and it has been magical to watch it happen."

What is your role in the Greater New Orleans community?
As Court Attorney, I am a supporting administrative staff to the Judges of the Juvenile Court. I’ve researched, written, trained, and provided training on the topic of juvenile human trafficking and the ways in which the court can improve infrastructure and processes for dealing with these cases. I’ve drafted protocols and procedures, written grants to increase personnel and training and technical assistance (TTA) on the topic at the court, led TTA projects in this area, participated in task forces and represented the court in this area at local, regional, and national stakeholder meetings and conferences.

What has been your most successful experience working in the anti-trafficking movement?
There have been so many successes working with GNOHTTF and the anti-trafficking movement – seeing an entire workforce become educated on what trafficking is and how to begin to identify and address it, watching judges and community members become champions in New Orleans for child victims, collaborating with jurisdictions and professionals across the US and even in other countries, creating strong partnerships among agencies doing work with youth and adult victims, seeing agencies grow in their ability to provide services, watching new generations of young students find interest and sustain a drive for change in this area, and most importantly seeing youth begin to have access to help and systems of change, even among all the setbacks and challenges. In this field, information is the fire clearing the fields for sustainable new growth and it’s been magical to watch it happen.

What has been your favorite aspect of collaborating among task force partners?
My favorite aspect is when the systems we work in are actually working together and members in each system are communicating, supporting each other and the youth in question. Even temporary solutions to a youth’s stability can have a lasting effect on the outcomes for that youth and watching a group of professionals work together to support those outcomes is always heartwarming and encourages me to keep working.

Anything else you'd like to share?
The most important aspect of this work is continual self-care. No matter what aspect of the system you are working in on this topic, even the most far removed research desk job, even as a student intern, even as a short term volunteer, it’s important to remember to take care of yourself or else you can’t begin to show up for those around you. Continue to encourage your team mates and also seek the help, rest, and respite you need to keep up the good work! No one can do this work alone.

What are Task Force members saying about Storm?

"Storm is a lifelong learner who is constantly seeking to improve the way that she and the people around her understand trafficking. Her leadership in the MSC-TTA project brought together stakeholders from a variety of backgrounds (who don’t always see eye-to-eye) to discuss how to better serve trafficked youth, and she did a fantastic job navigating that process and creating connections.”

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Samantha Sahl, LMSW

RISE Coordinator, Orleans Parish Juvenile Court

"While it can be frustrating to work in a field where there is not yet an evidence-based best practice – it is also exciting and empowering to work with people who are so dedicated and passionate about finding innovative and sustainable solutions."

What is your role in the Greater New Orleans community?
I am the RISE Coordinator at Orleans Parish Juvenile Court (OPJC). RISE stands for Respect, Invest in, Support & Empower. RISE is an initiative at OPJC to improve the capacity and infrastructure of the juvenile justice system to identify and respond to child victims of human trafficking. We have designed and piloted a protocol to screen all youth for child sex and labor trafficking, and are working on efforts along with community partners to effectively keep trafficked youth out of juvenile detention and divert them into appropriate services.

What has been your most successful experience working in the anti-trafficking movement?
I really enjoyed working at the New Orleans Children’s Advocacy Center for 2 ½ years, and helping to create New Orleans’ first survivor services multidisciplinary team that brings providers and advocates together to coordinate service plans for youth who have been victimized by human trafficking. I have also enjoyed training NOPD officers and community members on recognizing and responding to human trafficking.

What has been your favorite aspect of collaborating among task force partners?
While it can be frustrating to work in a field where there is not yet an evidence-based best practice – it is also exciting and empowering to work with people who are so dedicated and passionate about finding innovative and sustainable solutions to this social problem. I love the collaboration and coordination that the task force facilitates.

Anything else you'd like to share?
My research and passion is centered on finding ways to incorporate youth voice and empowerment into the existing youth-serving systems and processes. Check out my article in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry entitled: “Using Shared Decision Making to Empower Sexually Exploited Youth.” 

What are Task Force members saying about Sam?

"Sam is regarded as an expert in the Greater New Orleans community on issues related to child trafficking. Her knowledge, commitment, and passion to serve youth make her a person who leads by example. Additionally, her research centering youth involvement in service provision is changing the way that the community understands survivor-centered services.”

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Community Champion Spotlight: Billy Hare and Sheri Lochridge

To honor Human Trafficking Awareness Month, each week in January we will be highlighting 2 individuals who have gone above and beyond in the Greater New Orleans community to serve victims and survivors of human trafficking. This highlight is the “Community Champion Spotlight”. Each individual was nominated by Task Force members. Community champions represent a variety of different disciplines and perspectives from the anti-trafficking movement. 

Our first highlight features members of our lead Task Force agencies. Both were nominated because of their leadership, commitment to treating victims/survivors with dignity, and dedication to collaboration. Both are individuals who have made themselves available all hours of the day and are known as people you can count on to help out in any situation. They are Lt. Billy Hare of Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, and Sheri Lochridge of Covenant House New Orleans.

Thank you Billy and Sheri for all you do for our community! We're so lucky to have you in the Greater New Orleans community. 

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Lieutenant Billy Hare

Commander (Vice Division), Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office

"I know if I need support right away, it's just a phone call away- day or night."

What is your role in the Greater New Orleans community?
Commanding and supervising the lead law enforcement agency for the GNOHTTF and making sure that the best collaborative efforts are in place between other law enforcement agencies and our service providers. I continually provide training to front line officers of the indicators of human trafficking.

What has been your most successful experience working in the anti-trafficking movement?
I've been working in the anti-trafficking movement for the past 16 years and over that time I have never experienced a more stronger collaborative effort of fighting human trafficking in our area than I have now with the GNOHTTF. When the leaders of the task force meet each month, I feel more comfortable each month that we are moving in the right direction to rescue victims and to put away those who have affected their lives.

What has been your favorite aspect of collaborating among task force partners?
I know if I need support right away, it's just a phone call away- day or night. The Federal Bureau of Investigations, Homeland Security Investigations, United States Attorney's Office, Covenant House of New Orleans, The Kenner Police Department, The Gretna Police Department, the Plaquemines Sheriff's Office and the Jefferson Parish District Attorney's Office are by our sides.

What are Task Force members saying about Billy?

"Billy shows deep respect during his investigations into potential trafficking cases. He treats each potential victim he encounters with dignity, respect and kindness. His dedication of 15+ years has made him an irreplaceable resource on trafficking investigations for law enforcement in New Orleans."

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Sheri Lochridge

Senior Human Trafficking Case Manager, Covenant House New Orleans

"As a former foster care child, former homeless youth, and former Covenant House resident, it’s a privilege to serve this population."

What is your role in the Greater New Orleans community?
I am the lead human trafficking case manager for Covenant House, working directly with clients that are survivors or at-risk of trafficking. I have left myself available 24/7, always ready to assist with new and existing clients. We have assisted with identification, awareness, and referrals, throughout the community. Clients have been transported/relocated back home to family, safe-undisclosed locations, and other housing programs. 

What has been your favorite aspect of collaborating among task force partners?
No one person and/or agency can fight trafficking alone. It takes a village, or in our case a task force. The more partners, the more resources! It is essential to collaborate to better serve the clients and ensure their needs are fully met.

Anything else you'd like to share?
As a former foster care child, former homeless youth, and former Covenant House resident, it’s a privilege to serve this population. I am very passionate about the task force efforts. We saw significant anti trafficking laws go into effect in 2018, and hope camaraderie continues through 2019!

What are Task Force members saying about Sheri?

"Sheri is available 24/7 and is willing to go to the ends of the earth to help the survivors day or night. People often say she is like an emergency room- always ready to serve someone no matter what. She also will help anyone who asks for assistance- whether it's law enforcement, a victim, or a provider."

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