For the Silent serves as key partner in juvenile trafficking prevention

Published 5:45 am Saturday, August 24, 2024

Predators often exploit a person’s insecurities to begin the grooming process. It might start with words of affirmation and small gifts, like a cell phone, and can escalate to more illicit items, such as vapes or controlled substances.

“They end up getting in trouble but, in the process, we realize it’s because of a long-term situation that came from trafficking. It’s not always just they were…troublemakers,” said Izzy Gentry, public strategist for Women of Hope.

Women of Hope toured the Smith County juvenile detention center on Monday to recognize and grasp the severe and actual impact of the issues faced in their community.

Women of Hope represent For the Silent, a Tyler-based human trafficking prevention organization, in its mission to provide resources, training, therapy and restoration for at-risk children.

Smith County Judge Taylor Heaton of the 475th District Court introduced the women to the court’s operations and invited them to observe a few cases. Chet Thomas, Director of Residential Services, then gave them a tour of the facilities.

Heaton handles only felonies and juvenile cases, excluding civil and family law matters. His focus is exclusively on criminal felony and juvenile cases.

“My heart’s here at juvenile,” Heaton said. “Every case is different, every juvenile is different, every background is different, every set of parents are different.”

Heaton said as a prosecutor, he often faced questions about detaining individuals who were victims of trafficking. He realized the charges were symptoms of a larger issue and that prosecution allowed the juvenile court to provide essential resources and intervene effectively.

Consequently, he started handling those cases differently.

The detention facility has 32 beds and about 40 staff. It includes the Hope Academy, a post-adjudication facility for long-term care. The Texas Juvenile Justice Department manages institutional care for juveniles needing prison and provides a parole officer at the facility.

“Sometimes when we talk about trafficking, we think it’s something that happens in a border city, or they happen internationally,” Gentry said. “To be able to see that this is a reality within our county is vital to understand and to see.”

It’s been tremendous to have For the Silent come in; they’ve been phenomenal, said Ross Worley, Juvenile Services Chief Probation Officer. For the Silent has not only utilized state-provided evaluation tools but also implemented assessments to identify red flags.

For the Silent has two full-time in-house advocates, one of whom is bilingual. Gentry said advocates attend court to listen for key factors that might indicate trafficking rather than delinquency.

Pairing these kids with dedicated specialists has been priceless, Worley said.

The advocates attend court to listen to cases and build rapport with the girls, helping them open up about their insecurities. By boosting their self-esteem, the goal is to make them less vulnerable to online predators.

Gentry said most, if not all, of the cases seen have originated from social media. The biggest target is Instagram profiles. Users often use emojis, which reveal specific details about themselves while reflecting Gen X’s favorite communication style.

It’s very easy for a groomer to determine a child’s school and interests and how to approach the child.

Parent training guides parents through current social media hacks, and youth group training helps kids understand the risks of oversharing on social media. Ambassadors share their knowledge, advising parents to check their kids’ phones and have conversations about online safety.

Tyler resident Heather Brown was nominated by Jeremy Flowers of the East Texas Crisis Center to be a Woman of Hope. Part of being a Woman of Hope involves fundraising and raising awareness for trafficked youth.

She has successfully raised over $17,000 for PATH during the Mardi Gras court and as a member of the Junior League of Tyler.

Gentry said a Woman of Hope must be nominated for the role. Each year, 30 new members are selected and undergo about eight months of education and engagement. Express interest to a current Woman of Hope for consideration.

Nominations for the next year are accepted in December.

As ambassadors for For the Silent, the Women of Hope actively educate themselves and work with partners to provide additional services for victims who need assistance exiting trafficking.

Many victims who end up in juvenile detention centers often do so on charges like drug possession or due to behavioral problems, and the root cause might go undiscovered. There’s usually a larger problem at play.

“A lot of people don’t understand that trafficking happens right here in East Texas,” Brown said. “This is an issue that we need to continue educating our community about.”

Gentry said she hopes the Women of Hope can connect personal stories to the reality of trafficking. Putting faces to these issues can drive cultural change in Smith County, making trafficking less accessible and establishing stronger community boundaries.

“It’s important for us as a community to talk about the at-risks instead of being reactive, being proactive,” Gentry said. “We can proactively help them to build their self-esteem so that we’re not seeing them in [the juvenile detention center], that we’re not seeing them on the other side of the harm and the trafficking. We love to be able to work with them beforehand.”