SIAM - Saved In America - Part 2
Sold into sexual slavery.
As of 2016, SIAM has worked about 58 cases of trafficking in children, all of which were successful rescues. One of the cases that year was of a 16-year-old girl who rode her bike to her friend’s house but wasn’t seen or heard from for three weeks. Her parents were beside themselves with one of the most torturous kinds of worry.
“We knew the police were treating her like a runaway and they just weren’t doing much,” Maureen, the girl’s mother said to People. “We were trying to do all we could ourselves, but it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. You could go broke hiring people to help you and still not find anything.”
Three weeks after the girl was taken and less than a week after SIAM was contacted, she was found in Compton, California. She happened to take a ride from an unknown man in a car and was subsequently sold into a sex slavery ring.
SIAM is an invaluable organization.
Law enforcement agencies around the country are thankful for the help rendered by SIAM, praising the group for their high-tech powered investigations and numerous successful rescues.
“They can be very helpful because victims sometimes don’t trust the police,” said San Diego County Chief Deputy District Attorney, Summer Stephan to VICE News.. “You know, a private investigator doesn’t have the police powers, and so as long as they abide by their ethical duties of staying in their lane and operating and providing information to police, then we welcome them.”
The group is funded by well-meaning individuals and organizations who are appreciative of the amazing work they’ve volunteered to do. According to Joseph Travers, it is funding from these sources, one of which is the William D. Lynch Foundation that enables them to carry out their duties effectively. These sources also funded the recruitment, training, and licensing of his team of volunteers.
“People don’t realize this is going on in their own backyards. This isn’t in some faraway country with very poor people,” said Joshua Travers to People. He is Joseph’s son and a former U.S Marine who now serves as SIAM’s Chief of Case Management. “This could be your next-door neighbor, your child, anyone’s child. A lot of these kids are from a middle-class family in the United States. They aren’t incredibly poor or involved in abuse or bad situations [at home].”
More grease to SIAM’s elbow. People like these men are the reason why the world hasn’t crumbled to pieces yet, but according to Joseph Travers, “The greatest thing that could happen is if Saved in America didn’t have to exist.”
Trafficking is real and it happens to PEOPLE – the rich, the poor, the middle-class, the powerful, and the homeless. We need to do our best to spread the word and support initiatives like these. If you would like to volunteer or donate check out their webpage, SavedInAmerica.org, for more details.
The Hearty Soul