New home, sharpened focus for agency battling human trafficking

Jennifer White would be thrilled if her grassroots organization shut down one day because it wasn’t needed anymore.

But she knows that’s unlikely. A half-decade after she started ICT S.O.S. to help combat human trafficking, the need is greater than ever.

“If you had asked me five years ago if we would be where we are right now, I would have told you you’re crazy,” White said. “It has grown so fast.”

ICT S.O.S. marked its fifth anniversary with some significant milestones.

After calling second-floor space above Mead’s Corner downtown home for the past few years, ICT S.O.S. has moved into the new Child Advocacy Center of Sedgwick County at 1211 S. Emporia, in the former Lincoln Elementary School just south of downtown

The move allows ICT S.O.S. to work directly with the Exploited and Missing Child Unit and several other agencies to provide a variety of services intended to protect the safety and welfare of children.

The organization also unveiled a colorful new logo that features a Wichita skyline and includes the phrase “End Human Trafficking” to make clear to newcomers why ICT S.O.S. exists.

“I think it’s really easy at a glance to get an idea of what we stand for by looking at that,” White said.

The original logo was a black-and-white design featuring aggressive hands in a “Stop” position. While that logo served its purpose well and is readily recognizable to those familiar with ICT S.O.S., White said she wanted something brighter and “more supportive.”

Part of the new logo depicts the Arkansas River winding through the city in what some have described as a hand holding up a few of Wichita’s most recognizable buildings. For White, it’s “a hand holding up a city, supporting the good work being done in the city.”

“I wanted to freshen up the look,” she said.

Numbers now faces

The move to the advocacy center has freshened up the organization and given it a fresh sense of urgency, White said.

“Before, I knew the numbers … and I was involved in helping from kind of an arm’s length,” White said. “It’s a completely different thing to see faces walk through the building.

“You know that any kid that comes through this building has had something happen,” she said. “The gravity is more than I was mentally prepared for at first … it’s not a number anymore. It’s a kid.”

ICT S.O.S. has become an important component in Wichita’s battle against human trafficking, said Dianna Schunn, executive director of the child advocacy center.

“They’ve just continued to be willing to change to meet whatever needs the community has,” Schunn said. “That’s been a major part of their growth.”

Fresh Start bags

In its early days, ICT S.O.S. provided a place for at-risk youths to get something to eat, wash their clothes or just hang out.

For nearly three years now, the program has been putting together “Fresh Start bags” for trafficking victims and youths who are at risk for human trafficking.

The bags provide items like clothes, toiletries and fast-food gift cards to children and teens. Bags for children provide a blanket and small toy. Teens will find a journal and pen in their bags.

The idea for the bags blossomed when an officer stopped by ICT S.O.S. to pick up supplies for a trafficking victim and mentioned how convenient it would be to have basic necessities like shampoo, toothpaste and a toothbrush in a to-go kit.

Demand for the bags has grown to the point that the organization provides them for 11 different agencies in the area.

“When we have a need for the Fresh Start bags, they’re right there” in the building, Schunn said. “It’s something we have access to on a regular basis.”

Though it may seem like a small thing, being able to give trafficking victims that bag on the first day of interaction shows they’re being taken care of, said Wichita police Lt. Travis Rakestraw, who oversees the Exploited and Missing Child Unit.

“A lot of times, they come in and they don’t have anything with them,” Rakestraw said. “They don’t have any clean clothes, they’ve been sleeping in how many different beds and motels and on the street.”

The Fresh Start bags “give them a chance to take a shower and get clean,” he said.

Network of contacts

Schunn said White’s vast network of contacts shines when a specific need arises, such as a stroller or bed for a child who has been sleeping on the floor.

“It’s amazing,” Schunn said. “She’ll put out a request on social media, and within 20 to 30 minutes, someone will donate something.”

While the center could acquire those same items eventually, Schunn said, “She has the connections already that just makes those things happen.”

Having someone at the center who works outside of law enforcement is valuable because of the perspective brought to discussions, Rakestraw said.

“She’s very knowledgeable,” Rakestraw said of White. “The energy she has is fantastic.”

That energy provides a valuable lift for those at the center who are coming to the assistance of young people in difficult situations, he said.

Community education has become perhaps the most important component of ICT S.O.S. in the past couple of years, Schunn and White said. White has been speaking at schools, churches and civic organizations about human trafficking, including recognizing the warning signs when it’s happening.

Last year, White said, ICT S.O.S. spoke to about 250 students in middle and high school. So far this year, that number is about 700. Next semester, they’ll be talking to more than 1,100 students.

“It’s very interactive,” White said of the presentation for students. “It’s very conversational.”

Along with reading stories and watching videos, the students discuss various scenarios.

“The kids come to their own opinions and conclusions, which I think is a lot more powerful than someone standing up there and talking for four hours,” White said.

Numbers suggest the need for that education won’t be waning any time soon. Authorities identified 55 victims of human trafficking in Wichita in 2015, Rakestraw said, and have identified another 56 through mid-November of this year.

Young people “are a lot smarter than we give them credit for,” White said. “It’s neat to watch them wrestle with and work through a scenario or a story and the light bulb comes on for them.”

This story was originally published December 4, 2016 at 6:01 PM with the headline "New home, sharpened focus for agency battling human trafficking."