Ft Worth Times

Unbound Forth Worth is working to help sex trafficking victims return to normal lives and has now established a new drop-in center, Forth Worth Business Press reported.

Drop-in centers are alternatives to juvenile detention centers so that officers can bring minors who they suspect of being trafficked. Tarrant County and the Fort Worth area have not previously had a drop-in center, the news agency reported.

The drop-in center will be located at One Safe Place and is called the Underground. It will open in October.

Brian Byrd, a physician and the District 3 city council representative for Fort Worth, said the drop-in center will give social workers the opportunity to identify trafficking victims more quickly.

“We’re not getting to them soon enough," Byrd said to Fort Worth Business Press. "Half of them are age 14 or younger when the exploitation starts, and 75% of them don’t even identify as victims."

Byrd noted that some don't realize they've been trafficked due to trauma bonding and drug addiction.

“The price these youth pay is tremendous, and it’s on us, folks, to get to them sooner, to make sure we get to them and get them the services that they need,” Byrd said, the news agency reported.

Byrd said that the Fort Worth area was doing some great things in the fight against human trafficking, but that identifying victims wasn't being done as much as it should.

“Juvenile detention centers are needed, and they’re great for what we need them to do," Byrd said, the news agency reported. "But for a lot of these kids, it’s just not the right place."

Byrd said child sex trafficking victims are hidden in plain sight, with a survey showing that most of them are even enrolled in and participating in school while they are being trafficked, according to the news agency.

“When we start having law enforcement bring them to the drop-in center, we’re going to identify hundreds of kids that we haven’t identified before,” Byrd said, the news agency reported. “It’s a place where the kids can come. They can get some food, they can take a nap or sleep for a while. There’s counseling services, they can take a shower, they can get their clothes washed, they can get a break. And then we have referral services, whether it’s for counseling or residential care.”