Catholic-Lutheran Partnership Serves Exploited Youth

When the phone rings at Lutheran Community Services Northwest (LCS), it means one more young person in Spokane County has left a human trafficking situation. LCS specializes in helping commercially sexually exploited children (CSEC). There are no good data on the prevalence
of CSEC in Spokane, but as with the nation as a whole, it’s on the rise.

To combat this trend locally, LCS and Catholic Charities Eastern Washington (CCEW) formed an interfaith partnership to identify, protect and heal exploited youth. Most recently, the faith-based nonprofits collaborated to open the CSEC housing unit, a safe haven at CCEW’s St. Margaret’s Shelter where youth retake control of their lives and heal from the trauma of physical, emotional and sexual abuse.

“The shared Christian faith of our agencies emphasizes the unique holiness of children, how special and close they are to God,” said Rob McCann, president of Catholic Charities. “There is no more important work that our organizations could be doing than coming together to protect youth.” The LCS–CCEW partnership serves all clients based on need and regardless of background. 

The partners began working together on CSEC issues through the Inland
Northwest Human Trafficking Task Force, which LCS coordinates. One of the challenges the partners noticed was that youth choosing to leave exploitative situations need stable, secure housing while they receive victim advocacy services, but their families are not always able to provide that. The CSEC unit was the answer. 

“There is some emergency shelter for teens, but it doesn’t always fit the
need or feel safe,” said Jenn Davis Nielsen, a victim advocate who supervises LCS’s Advocacy Program. “St. Margaret’s is nice because it’s secure.” CCEW and LCS share information with parents and keep them involved with their child’s case. 

The CSEC unit provides a safe, home-like environment where exploited youth benefit from CCEW’s expertise in housing and LCS’s expertise in victim advocacy. Exploited youth are able to access all of the shelter’s resources, including CCEW case managers who help them set and achieve their goals for housing, education or employment.

At the same time, LCS provides victim advocacy services at the CSEC unit.
LCS provides support immediately after trauma. Once survivors are safe, victim advocates help them make informed decisions about the unique medical care that sexual assault requires. Victim advocates also help survivors pursue the legal outcome they want, which often includes a no-contact order. 

Victim advocates provide care that is trauma-informed. They believe
survivors’ stories and understand that trauma is influencing their behavior,
which “makes all the difference in the trajectory of someone’s healing,” Davis Nielsen said. 

While court cases end, healing lasts a lifetime. LCS and CCEW make their
services available for as long as exploited youth ask for them. LCS refers
youth to their clinical program for therapy and helps them sign up for health insurance and other services. St. Margaret’s Shelter welcomes the youth to return to access the food bank, clothing closet or case management services. After helping youth become stable, the goal is to help them choose to stay in safe situations where they will not be exploited.