Human trafficking victims get support

images of what is happening to her child, a victim of human trafficking.

“It puts me in a bad frame of mind right away,” Jennifer said.

When she gets to work on one of those days, more often than not she closes her office door to sob, the day is unproductive and she is on edge and depressed.

“Until I can take a deep breath and tell myself ‘eventually, everything will work out,’” Jennifer said.

She has been attending counseling for several months and while it has helped her reach the point where she is today, she still finds it difficult to relate to others.

“Even though I’m getting the help I need, I feel very alone and isolated,” Jennifer said. “I just feel like ... nobody else has gone through this.”

Jennifer has been working with the Sutter and Yuba County Victim Services Program to create a support group for the parents of human trafficking victims, a “safe place to go so people are not alone,” she said.

Tony Kildare, program manager for Sutter County Victim Services, spoke of Jennifer’s bravery in sharing her experience.

“Hopefully, this will inspire some people to come forward,” Kildare said. “Parents have a unique burden.”

Jennifer said as the parent of a victim

of human trafficking, she has felt immense guilt, sadness and confusion.

“When it first happened, someone had to catch me because it felt like my child had died. It felt like they were gone,” she said. “To not know what happened, why did that happen to my child and to my family ... it’s heartwrenching.”

Parents of human trafficking victims interested in joining the bi-county support group are encouraged to call one of the Victim Service offices in Sutter County at 822-7345 or in Yuba County at 7416275.

Jennifer hopes other parents come forward to share their experience and heal together.

“Understand that it happened,” she said. “Understand that it shouldn’t have happened, and that there’s some really horrible people in this world.”

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