Sara Nellis, a survivor of trafficking, was recently a part of Texas CASA’s Anti-Child Trafficking call to action — Read more of her powerful story of overcoming sex trafficking and navigating foster care.
Via FOX 7 Austin —
AUSTIN, Texas - A survivor is sharing her story to bring awareness about the prevalence of human trafficking.
"It's hard to accept the fact that it happened," human trafficking survivor Sara said.
"I grew up definitely in poverty and experienced a lot of abuse in the home growing up. I definitely got into a lot of risky behaviors that I engaged in as a youth, just as a way of coping from trauma and just the life that I was living," she said.
That is when she was introduced to her trafficker.
"They had me hooked because I was already using, so they had something that I wanted, right, and so and something that in my…in my teenage brain thought is what I needed, right, to escape reality of what my life was like at home," Sara said.
Eventually, Sara was removed from her home and moved into a center for girls.
Human trafficking is a crime that impacts millions of people each year, including in Austin.
"It affects over 27 million people every year, and it is $150 billion industry," U.S. Department of Homeland Security Acting Unit Chief Brandi Bynum said.
"Trafficking happens right here in our community," Unbound Now regional director Kristi Hayes said.
Unbound Now helped almost 200 survivors in the Austin area last year.
"We will have law enforcement that we work with all agencies, local, federal, state and then we also have nonprofits that are working with us because we get to collaborate with all the different nonprofits who are working in this and then, of course, the prosecutorial teams who are helping us bring justice to the survivor," Hayes said.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said there may be even more youth survivors after about 300,000 children came across the border during the Biden-Harris administration.
"It's almost criminal what Joe Biden did, allowing all these children to come in and then losing them, putting those children at risk. Who knows how many of those children were child sex trafficked or harmed in some other way? And you got to hand it to the Trump administration for quickly locating them, identifying them and worked to ensure their safety," Abbott said.
What you can do:
Some of the warning signs of minor and adult sex trafficking include visible injuries, failure to make eye contact, fake or no identification, and claims of a boyfriend or girlfriend relationship with an older individual.
Warning signs of labor trafficking include excessive working or unusual hours, being transported to and from work by the employer, and appearing malnourished.
The National Human Trafficking Hotline is 1-888-373-7888. In an emergency, call 911.