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Human Trafficking : Terror that Lies Beneath !

Immigrants are vulnerable to abuse, and many come from countries with no laws against domestic violence and child abuse, or countries which do not enforce the laws that they do have. In immigrant homes, where family cohesion is valued above an individual’s desires, escaping an abusive relationship becomes much more difficult.  Due to cultural differences, lack of knowledge about American systems, and limited English, immigrants must overcome many additional barriers, and they may lack the resources and education needed.

Immigrants are marginalized and isolated, and struggle to achieve safety and self-sufficiency.  North Texas has one of the largest concentrations of immigrants in the nation. The U.S. Census reports that 1 in 5 residents of Dallas County, 1 in 6 residents of Collin County, and 1 in 7 residents of Tarrant County are foreign-born.  Over 40,000 family violence reports were made in the region in 2007, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. National hotline calls from the North Texas region increased by 7% from 2007 to 2008. This still does not reflect the true needs of immigrants, who are much less likely to access traditional family violence services. 

Human trafficking is the enslavement of a person by another through force, fraud, coercion, and abuse. Immigrants from poor countries are susceptible to human trafficking due to poverty and desire for a better life. Trafficking victims experience abuse similar to family violence, including isolation, physical/emotional abuse, and the traffickers’ use of power and control.  Human trafficking is the second largest criminal activity in the world, and Texas is viewed as one of the four states with the highest number of trafficked victims. 1300 trafficking victims have been identified and served by Health and Human Services nationwide, and 10% of those victims have been served by MFS.  Since 2006, Dallas and Fort Worth Police Depts. have investigated over 75 trafficking cases collectively. 

Mosaic Family Services addresses the needs of victims of domestic violence and human trafficking from a comprehensive, multicultural perspective that takes into account their complex and diverse needs.  Clients receive:

• Free safe housing:  The Mosaic House shelter facility is an apartment building with 14 bedrooms available for clients.  Each two bedroom unit contains a common living room and kitchen.  At least one staff person is on site at all times, available to assist residents and answer the 24 hour hotline. Residents stay for 90 days. 

• Food, clothing and other basic needs:  The House Manager ensures that residents have adequate food and other daily necessities.  Area grocery stores and the North Texas Food Bank donate food on a weekly basis. Clothes, shoes, hygiene products, household items, diapers, and other supplies are donated throughout the year.  The House Manager supplements these donations by purchasing additional food and supplies each month. 

• Comprehensive case management services:  Case Managers conduct a needs assessment and provide information on available resources and options.  They assist the client in accessing food stamps, medical services, mental health care, transportation and interpretation. Case Managers also assist each client in the creation of a safety plan for her and her children. 

• Legal Services:  Residents also have access to free legal representation in family law and immigration cases through our Multicultural Legal Services Program.  The Program provides comprehensive legal representation for divorce, child custody, protective orders, and other legal issues stemming from the abuse.   

• Children’s services:  The Child Advocate provides crisis and support services for children at Mosaic House, including case management, education, children’s groups and activities, and safety planning. The Child Advocate works closely with the victimized parent to help them understand how family violence is affecting their children.  She arranges and provides parenting classes, and helps the mothers access children’s services within the agency and in the community. Volunteers also provide after-school tutoring and activities for children. 

• Counseling services:  Residents are assisted with overcoming the trauma of domestic violence or human trafficking through individual and group therapy for adult residents, and play and art therapy for child residents.  The Counselor uses play and art therapy for child residents, allowing them to express feelings through age-appropriate services. 

• Educational classes.  Volunteers and staff teach classes on English as a Second Language (ESL), financial education, computer skills training, life skills classes and job readiness.   

• 24-Hour Hotline Assistance:  Staff provides 24 hour crisis support services through the hotline, assisting callers with information and referral, crisis counseling, and brief education on domestic violence and human trafficking.  Mosaic House staff screens hotline callers for program admission, and will provide interpretation firsthand or by telephone through the Language Line. 

The diversity of the staff at MFS makes the agency highly skilled and equipped to address the needs of culturally and linguistically distinct clients. When the staff member is from a background a client can identify with, the staff member has more success in challenging traditional beliefs and spreading the message that domestic violence and human trafficking are not acceptable anywhere. This has made the outreach by the agency more effective, and has resulted in intervention with victims who could not be reached otherwise.

Mosaic House remains the only housing facility in the North Texas area specifically designed to meet the needs of battered immigrant women and their children.  The immigrant and refugee communities in Dallas rely on Mosaic Family Services to provide this safe haven, protecting the vulnerable immigrants who experience abuse.  Oftentimes, these families have nowhere else to turn, and Mosaic House is the only program to address their cultural, ethnic, and linguistic needs.  Mosaic Family Services is the only agency providing services for victims of human trafficking in the entire North Texas region, and has one of the two trafficking programs in the state of Texas. 

Read Mary's Chilling Strory...

In 1990, the East Dallas Counseling Center, Inc. (EDCC) was established under the stewardship of Dallas Challenge, Inc., a nonprofit youth service agency. In 1993, EDCC became an independent nonprofit 501 (c) (3) organization.  As the needs of the community became more apparent, the agency broadened its mission to include other health and social services to refugees and immigrants.  In January 2003, EDCC changed its name to Mosaic Family Services, Inc. (MFS), to better represent our mission and services. 

The mission of Mosaic Family Services, Inc. is to support, educate, and empower the individuals and families of the communities we serve.  Today, Mosaic Family Services reaches over 21,000 persons annually through direct services and outreach. MFS meets the needs of immigrant victims of domestic violence, survivors of human trafficking, and recently-arrived refugees through comprehensive case management, legal services, and counseling. MFS also provides HIV/AIDS outreach, education, testing, and case management for at-risk populations in Dallas. The agency also provides substance abuse prevention and education for multicultural youth in the area.  MFS reaches Dallas, Denton, Collin, Rockwall, Tarrant, and surrounding counties in the North Texas region.  MFS employs 40 full-time and 9 part-time staff members in all programs, and utilizes approximately 350 volunteers each year.  All services provided by Mosaic Family Services, Inc. are free of charge. 

MFS has worked with refugees and immigrants since 1993, and first served victims of domestic violence in 1997, with the inception of the Multicultural Family Violence Program.  In November 2001, Mosaic House opened its doors as the region’s first multicultural housing for immigrant women and their children.  In 2001, the agency began its Services for Victims of Trafficking Program, which provides comprehensive services for victims of human trafficking.  MFS has one of a few human trafficking programs in the entire state of Texas, and was instrumental in advocating for the State’s human trafficking law.  MFS is at the forefront of innovative and emerging fields in working with refugees and immigrants. 

Our staff is multicultural with fluency in 30 languages: Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Bosnian, Burmese, Croatian, English, French, Fulani, Hindi, Italian, Karen, Kikuyu, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Korean, Kurdish, Laotian, Malayalam, Mandarin, Nepali, Russian, Serbian, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Thai, Urdu, Vietnamese, and Wolof.  The diversity of the staff at MFS makes the agency highly skilled and equipped to address the needs of culturally distinct clients.  When the staff member is from a background a client can identify with, the staff member has more success in challenging traditional beliefs and spreading the message that domestic violence and human trafficking are not acceptable anywhere.  This has made our outreach more effective, and has resulted in intervention with victims who could not be reached otherwise. 

The purpose of Mosaic Family Services is to serve as a turning point from victimization and self-defeat.  Through our work in the fields of substance abuse treatment and health services, MFS recognized that domestic violence, child abuse, and other forms of victimization are significant health problems in our community.  In the past 10 years, MFS become well-established in the community for our work with multicultural groups and with immigrant victims of violence.  Though our purpose has not changed, our focus has continued to strengthen, making our services more effective and furthering our impact in the North Texas region.

Source: Mosaic Family Services, Inc.