A new home for survivors of sex trafficking will soon open in Muskegon County, as officials from the non-profit Hope Project say, the problem is worse than most people think.
Officials from the Hope Project say, the new home will be at an undisclosed place in Muskegon County, and while six girls are already slated to live there, the non-profit currently works with 160 survivors in West Michigan, all who had been bought and sold by sex traffickers-many by their own parents.
Mary Suarez is Hope Network’s Development and Advocacy Manager. She says the reality of sex trafficking is nothing like how the movies depict it.
“The biggest misconception is that, as Hollywood would portray, it is some high-ranking official’s beautiful daughter who gets kidnapped and he goes off on some vigilante type mission to rescue her, and that is just not what it looks like,” Suarez said. “The reality is it is definitely happening in West Michigan.”
Just how bad is it in Muskegon County?
According to the Human Trafficking Task Force, out of the 140 people rescued last year, 70% of them were trafficked as children. 30% were trafficked under 12 years old. Heartbreaking, Suarez says they currently are working with a 9-year-old survivor of sex trafficking.
“Hope Village,” opens in the fall. Survivors will receive counseling, mentoring, recreational therapy, case management and education, most importantly a safe place to live.
