PARKER, Colo. — A brand new residence particularly for human trafficking survivors will quickly open as advocates attempt to sound the alarm that there is not almost sufficient protected housing for survivors in Colorado.
“They are saying that the grass is greener on the opposite facet and after I assume again to earlier than I started my therapeutic journey, I did not even know there was grass on the opposite facet,” stated Amanda Jordan, a survivor of human trafficking.
She stated she was in her early 20s when she met a person who finally would have possession over her for eight years. She is aware of taking that first step to go away is extremely tough and oftentimes harmful.
Colorado group working to fill housing hole for human trafficking survivors
“Most survivors, after they exit a trafficking scenario, a part of the coercive management that they have been underneath is: risk to family members and threats to themselves. So going to a identified place could be harmful,” she stated.
That is why advocates say protected housing for trafficking survivors is so essential. It is also uncommon.
Coated Colorado stated whereas working with the Denver Police Division, it was indicated that there have been 75 instances of human trafficking in Denver County in 2024.
“We’ve got about 16 beds in Colorado. We do not have sufficient beds in Colorado simply to care for the instances in Denver County. Denver just isn’t even the highest county for trafficking in Colorado,” stated Johanna Spille, founding father of Coated Colorado, an advocacy group for survivors.
Spille stated the necessity for protected properties is pressing.
“Eighty % of survivors, if they do not have protected housing, will find yourself again in trafficking conditions,” she stated.
Coated Colorado was not too long ago accepted to open a brand new protected residence for as much as eight survivors within the Centennial space.
“We’re opening the primary week in March. We have already obtained folks on a waitlist and so we might be bringing folks in that very first day that we’re open,” Spille stated.
The placement of the properties themselves are stored a secret, however Coated Colorado is there to make the connection for survivors.
“This is not essentially the kind of factor the place you may simply heal from alone. It goes a lot smoother when you’ve gotten a group of suppliers that perceive that exact trauma,” stated Jordan.
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