In the United States, it is common and comforting to think of slavery as a problem of yesteryear. The historical narrative is simple and linear: we had slaves, we fought a war over the issue of slavery, and now slavery is no more. Sadly, this is far from true; while no longer enshrined in law, slavery is alive and well in the United States and across the globe, though underground and with a new M.O.: human trafficking.

 

“When people think of places where human beings are trafficked, they don’t tend to think of Vermont” explained Fr. Scott Gratton, founder of a new nonprofit known as Our Lady’s Haven whose aim is to aid survivors of the practice. “But the truth is, it happens everywhere. There are cases reported every year, in every state. Vermont is rural, it’s low-crime, it’s out of the way…police aren’t looking for traffickers with the same intensity that they would elsewhere. That’s exactly the problem – if you’re in that business, you can come to a place like Vermont and fly under the radar for a long time.” Due to the illicit and secretive nature of trafficking operations, it is impossible to pinpoint exactly how many people are currently ensnared by traffickers; conservative estimates place the total at 25 million, though other reports suggest that as many as 50 million people are trafficked worldwide. In the United States, approximately 1.1 million people are known to live in this system of modern slavery – enough to populate a city the size of Dallas, Texas.

 

“The majority of trafficking worldwide is for forced labor” Fr. Gratton said. “The United States is somewhat unique because here, a large plurality of victims are trafficked for sex instead – about 40%.” Fr. Gratton explained that part of the difficulty with combatting trafficking is that it can take many forms, often innocuous. “People hear ‘trafficking’ and their mind goes to someone getting kidnapped and taken somewhere. That does happen, but that’s not all trafficking is. Just as often, it can look like someone getting blackmailed by their boss, or an addict being forced to do favors for their dealer, or someone forced to send money to a cartel back home to keep their family safe. These people don’t fit the stereotype of trafficking victims – they’re not chained up in a cabin somewhere, they work and live alongside us and live outwardly normal lives, but they are still victims and need our help.”

 

Having overcome the hurdle of state approval, Our Lady’s Haven is approaching its goal of providing housing, resources, and care for those who have escaped human trafficking. “I started (Our Lady’s Haven) with the help of a parishioner, a recent convert whose daughter was caught up in trafficking and sadly lost her life as a result. He’s been extremely passionate about the project, and a huge help.” While current plans account for a house for women and men, Fr. Gratton hopes to one day extend Our Lady’s Haven’s mission to help children as well. “Statistics show about a fourth of all trafficking victims are minors” Fr. Gratton said; “though a lot of new data suggests this might be closer to a third. We would need to go through a separate approval process and do a lot more work before we’re ready to help these children, but it’s something I hope we can eventually do.”

 

Discussion surrounding human trafficking are, understandably, emotionally charged; much of the rhetoric around the issue focuses on revenge and punishment, and in the noise the needs of victims are often forgotten. “I totally get it” Fr. Gratton said. “The things (traffickers) do are evil, sickeningly evil. You get angry, you want to go out and chase these people down yourself…this doesn’t help anyone. It’s not what our faith tells us to do. We need to remember that we are here for those who have suffered, sometimes for years or even their whole lives.” Another facet of the mission of Our Lady’s Haven is to remind people that the Church is a place where people can find hope, healing, and help. “So much of our diocese’s recent history is defined by ways in which the Church has hurt people, and we absolutely need to do what we can to help those the Church has hurt. But thinking ahead, I want people in the future to see a priest and say ‘There’s one of those men I can go to if I need help – if I have no one and nowhere to go, I can go to him.’ We should strive to be a sanctuary of hope, and this is one small piece of that.”

 

Based in Northfield, Our Lady’s Haven is currently seeking additional volunteers and donors as it ramps up its mission. For more information, readers are encouraged to visit https://www.ourladyhaven.org/.