New program in Stanislaus County puts survivors of sex trafficking on path to better lives
A Modesto organization that provides programs for victims of sex trafficking and specializes in education and prevention training is trying something new.
The new diversion program by Without Permission reroutes women who are arrested for prostitution-related crimes to the nonprofit’s 10-week program for survivors of sex trafficking.
The Commercial Sexual and Exploitation Diversion program, a partnership with the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office, will begin providing services to help women after they’ve been arrested. It is the first time the diversion services are available to adults.
“The restorative nature of the program is really unique,” said Michell Camacho, Without Permission’s justice director.
The new program has “certified navigators” who undergo 24 hours of trauma-informed training by professional therapists on interacting with survivors.
“We talk about the traumas of trafficking and their traffickers, how they got there and what issues they’re facing out there on the streets, such as drugs and homelessness,” Camacho said about how the diversion program has worked with minors. “It really digs deep into them and shows them, ‘Hey, wait a minute, this is not where I want to be.’”
Previously, people arrested for prostitution would watch a one-hour online video on human trafficking, but many skipped through it, Camacho said. Now, she said, this program helps them overcome the underlying issues.
Without Permission prides itself on being led by survivors of sex trafficking.
“This program means the world to me, especially as a survivor coming through the system I did, through the streets,” Camacho said. “It wasn’t there back then.”
Navigators will assist survivors with making doctor appointments, signing up for insurance and securing restraining orders.
Getting people to commit to the program can be difficult, but Camacho said she is encouraged when people take the first step of calling Without Permission or entering the program.
“Right now, they’re dehumanized,” she said. “They’re something like a machine that’s out there — we want to change that for them, change their mindset.”
Approaches to human trafficking in Stanislaus County
Craig Osmonson, a sergeant with the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office, said deputies are now trained on how to spot human trafficking and try to avoid arrests when possible, but “not everything is perfect.”
“It wasn’t long ago, just a couple of years ago, where the thought process wasn’t the same, it was just ‘Everybody goes to jail,’” he said. “They would catch misdemeanor case after misdemeanor case and they go through the justice system, and resources aren’t offered.”
Survivors of human trafficking still get arrested for prostitution, drug possession and theft, or for outstanding warrants. One of the incentives to complete the program is the possibility of having their criminal records expunged or reduced.
Camacho said drugs are one way exploiters control people. “They keep them bound by that addiction and some of them don’t know how to get out of it, so they continue to do what they are doing.”
Without Permission coordinates with community partners including Legacy Alliance Outreach, which offers drug abuse classes daily, as well as peer support from people who have experience overcoming addiction.
“We find that drug addiction is one of the key ingredients that human traffickers use to traffic individuals,” said Michael Baldwin Sr., executive director and founder of Legacy Alliance Outreach. “So we want to remove that barrier or obstacle that allows it to be used as a tool to cause people to stay in that life.”
Mariana Guice, who works with Camacho at Without Permission, said one of the biggest issues she sees is unemployment. “Some people don’t take the chance of working a regular job because they feel like they aren’t going to fit in, that they’ll be judged,” she said.
Melanie Gallagher, human trafficking and housing program manager at HAVEN (Healthy Alternatives to Violent Environments), said they offer shelter to all survivors of human trafficking regardless of gender, status or faith and collaborate with Without Permission.
“So sometimes they might reach out with their client to our crisis line to get an assessment done,“ she said. “And if there is space and based on how that assessment goes, they would be accepted into shelter.”
They also partner with faith-based organizations to provide free additional counseling.
“Every story is different,” Camacho said. Some women in their 30s and 40s were trafficked when they were minors, some are gang affiliated and some are trafficked by family members.
Osmonson said most officers don’t have psychology degrees and are not equipped to be a survivor service. “We introduce them and we slowly moonwalk out of it,” he said. “That allows the victim services to step in and have a meaningful and truthful conversation outside of the whole law enforcement perspective.”
Baldwin said some people who walk through the door at Legacy Alliance have been trafficked and are looking for a way out. He hasn’t had the resources to help them, but through Without Permission, he does.
“Now we’ll be in a space where we can immediately get them over to them and really rescue them from those situations.”
Without Permission’s Camacho said she has a solid team and believes this new avenue for survivors of sex trafficking will make a difference.
“I know that it’s going to reduce recidivism,” she said. “I have no doubt in my mind about that.”
This story was originally published January 28, 2025 at 2:48 PM.
