Here & Now

Sex Trafficking Awareness organization Opens New Safe House

Frederica Freyberg:

Wisconsin is now home to a national organization’s flagship safe house for survivors of sex trafficking. In tonight’s inside look, why such housing is so badly needed and what the house will offer. We check in with Selah Freedom President and CEO, Elizabeth Melendez Fisher Good. The mission of her organization? To end sex trafficking and bring freedom to the exploited through four strong programs: awareness, prevention, outreach and residential. Thank you for being here.

Elizabeth Melendez Fisher Good:

Thank you.

Frederica Freyberg:

First some background on the need. According to your website, Chicago is in the top five cities for sex trafficking and Milwaukee has been deemed the “Harvard for pimps.” What does that Milwaukee designation mean?

Elizabeth Melendez Fisher Good:

Isn’t that crazy? I don’t — it’s, it’s something that — a stat that was out there that this is a place that pimps will come to learn because some cities are much more advanced on finding and clearing out trafficking or some areas that they say we don’t bring girls here. Law enforcement’s all over us. So maybe there’s been a gap in Milwaukee but the great thing that we can say is we were excited to see that stat because we’ve opened this amazing home and we will turn Wisconsin into a solution center. Because vulnerable children are everywhere. I don’t think people realize that sex trafficking is not “Taken” or in Indonesia only, but rather kids in every zip code right here in our Midwest. I’m from Chicago. I grew up my summers in Wisconsin. It’s amazing what’s happening under everybody’s nose.

Frederica Freyberg:

You describe too that that corridor between Chicago and Milwaukee is particularly kind of dangerous for exploitation and sex trafficking.

Elizabeth Melendez Fisher Good:

Well, what happens is if you have a little girl and it always comes from someone that was keeping a secret of childhood sexual abuse, so ultimately they were groomed. And they were set up to be used and lied to and coerced. So if they run away from their home and they’re out there looking, so somebody runs to Chicago, traffickers are looking for vulnerable children. It is so textbook. They say, hey, I bet you’re hungry. You need a place to stay? I’ll love you. I bet your parents didn’t know how to love you. And that’s all — they’re like, “oh my hero.” And they’re actually — they call the pimps now “Romeo pimps” because they lure them in. And then these guys know where to go. They move them here. They sell them one night here and they sell them one night here. And back and forth up from Chicago to Milwaukee. Think of all the activities and the sports and the venues that we have.

Frederica Freyberg:

So meanwhile you have rebuilt this safe house and you call it the flagship.

Elizabeth Melendez Fisher Good:

Flagship home.

Frederica Freyberg:

Describe that for us.

Elizabeth Melendez Fisher Good:

It’s amazing. There was a generous group that donated this home to us. It’s 7700 square feet. It has 20 beds and girls are having services now and it’s going to be full boat — filled up in the next 30 days. And literally it was given thinking it was going to need a quick transformation. There was a couple things that happened and we had to gut it down to studs. So the photos that you are showing, it is transformed. This is the most beautiful. But we do have a color palate, a standard decorating DNA because a girl from the streets, she walks in and she can’t believe she gets to live here. Atmosphere elevates. They can’t go back to the streets and see things the same. We try to make a big impact when they hit us for the first time.

Frederica Freyberg:

When they hit you for the first time, what do they need most?

Elizabeth Melendez Fisher Good:

You know what, they don’t believe they’re worth it. We have an outreach arm. So when we talk about the different programs, residential is one program. It is so hard to get a girl, even though she’s been abused since she was 3, 4, 5. She’s been on the streets since she was 12 or 14, sold for sex 15 to 40 times a day. The average number is 20 to 25 that these 13, 14, 15-year-olds are sold and purchases. These are American girls bought by our own men. Literally she is told this is all you’re worth. This is your value. So our outreach team that’s on the streets and in the jails and in the courts between here and Milwaukee and all over the state are reaching out to these girls. We will chase a girl for two years to help her believe there’s more for you. She doesn’t believe it. So coming in to dream and hope again. Then we give them — it’s like restoring a childhood that was stolen.

Frederica Freyberg:

How long can they stay?

Elizabeth Melendez Fisher Good:

Anywhere from one to three years. And such a big number of our graduates are on staff. The first time they’ve come into a healthy community. I mean it changes everything. 100% of them get their GED. We don’t get them until they’re 18. So they have been on the streets and abused since they were children and little. An 18-year-old is developmentally still 12. And so it’s restoring. Horse therapy, art therapy, puppy therapy. One girl is like, I could sing. I never knew I was musical. So… it’s beautiful.

Frederica Freyberg:

While you are in Wisconsin, you are meeting with our attorney general. To what end?

Elizabeth Melendez Fisher Good:

We’re going there next, straight from here and to share the legislation has been waiting for our home to open. It was gifted to us almost three years ago. No one knew we were going to have to gut it down to stud. So we missed the last legislation who was like, here you go. Come on, open and wanted us to roll right into everything. And now it all turned over. So this is our first meeting to say we’re here, we’re up and running, just introduce how committed we are to standing by his side and the governor and turning Wisconsin into the national solution center.

Frederica Freyberg:

When you say you missed the legislation, was there particular legislation or was it just —

Elizabeth Melendez Fisher Good:

Everyone turned over. We knew the last governor and attorney general and they were very excited for our home to open and they termed out before we opened. We’re hoping there’s the same enthusiasm to get into the state budget because it needs to be sustainable. We need a lot of support. We typically have 400 volunteers per market. It takes millions a year to run all of our programs and getting in the state budget would be fantastic.

Frederica Freyberg:

If people need more information, they can go to your website.

Elizabeth Melendez Fisher Good:

We would love them to go to SelahFreedom.com. And there’s a great opportunity for matching gifts there as well and to volunteer and get involved.

Frederica Freyberg:

Thank you so much.

Elizabeth Melendez Fisher Good:

Thank you.