Safety Compass Responds On-Scene to Unprecedented Number of Human Trafficking Survivors in One Day

Safety Compass advocates responded to multiple scenes across the Northwest Oregon region, providing in-person crisis intervention to 21 survivors across multiple counties in a single day, 19 of whom were served during one 12-hour overnight period.

Human trafficking exists at the intersection of violence, poverty, addiction, exploitation, trauma, commerce, and public safety. No single profession, ideology, or institution can adequately respond to it.

Effective advocacy is learning to stand between worlds, bridging the space between survivors and systems, holding both profound grief and unwavering hope, while continually asking, Who else needs to be involved in the creation of this survivor’s support community, if they are going to make it out of this warzone alive?

That question has shaped the mission of Safety Compass.

Recent arrests connected to an expanding child exploitation investigation involving the late Dr. Michael Wilmington, a pediatrician who worked at Kaiser Permanente in Salmon Creek, and Vancouver residents Anna May Hartley and Chad Hartley, have brought renewed attention to the realities of child sexual abuse, trafficking, and exploitation in our region.

Cases like this force us to confront a difficult truth: trafficking and child sexual exploitation rarely look the way people expect them to. Media coverage, movies, and even public awareness campaigns have historically  focused on “stranger danger”, abductions, or dramatic scenarios involving unknown perpetrators. The reality is that exploitation, trafficking, and abuse frequently happens within existing relationships and trusted circles. Those victimized are often harmed by people they know, depend on, or have been taught to trust.

For a decade, we’ve walked alongside survivors, trained communities, built partnerships, and worked toward a future free from violence and exploitation. What began as a vision has grown into a movement powered by advocates, supporters, partners, and survivors themselves.

The need for this work remains urgent.

As we celebrate this milestone year, we’re reflecting on the impact we’ve created together and looking ahead to the work still to come.

Since Wednesday, April 15th, 2026, Safety Compass has responded on-scene to multiple requests for emergency response and advocacy from Portland Police Bureau’s Human Trafficking Unit. The Portland Police Bureau’s Human Trafficking Unit (HTU) and East Precinct Officers identified six teenage girls, ranging in age from 13 years old to 17 years old, who were being commercially sexually exploited and trafficked along 82nd Avenue.

Light Up the Night, an outreach event coordinated by Safety Compass, brought together community partners and first responders yesterday along 82nd Avenue in Multnomah & Clackamas Counties. 

A component of the care we give is safety-planning and empowering individuals to take the steps they deem necessary to get to safety.

When it’s go-time, and they have built up the courage and bravery to safety-plan and leave, we pour all our time, energy and resources into helping the survivor get free. That might entail transportation to safety, coordinating with other agencies, and working with community partners to find housing, food, clothing, toiletries and other essential needs.

It seems fitting that I was called out to the emergency room last week to sit with a victim receiving medical care on this milestone. As I was leaving, she hugged me, and I whispered in her ear, “Keep going.” And just like that, Love was there.