Hillary DeJarnett serves as the USA Southern Territory’s Territorial Services Coordinator Against Human and Sex Trafficking and oversees the #FightforFreedom strategy as part of her role.

PEER: Can you describe briefly what your role entails as the Southern Territory’s Anti-Trafficking Coordinator? 

HILLARY DEJARNETT: As the Territorial Anti-Trafficking Coordinator, I am overseeing our Fight for Freedom strategy. We are committed to fighting human trafficking through awareness & training, prevention & outreach, survivor services & recovery and partnerships & advocacy. My favorite part of my role is supporting our programs in the field—this work is not easy and they are serving survivors of trauma and abuse. This can cause compassion fatigue and burnout which are difficult to navigate. I love each and everyone of our staff serving survivors in our programs and work to encourage and support them.

I also work with my counterparts in each USA Territory to create resources for our annual day of prayer, National Awareness Month, END IT Day and to put on monthly webinars and practitioners’ calls. I represent our Territory on our National AHT Committee, our International Zonal AHT Committee and other external conferences and events. 

P: How did you come to be involved in anti-human trafficking work?

HD: I first learned about human trafficking at TYI, our Salvation Army young adult retreat, when I was 15 years old. I knew when I first learned about it that I wanted to be part of the solution. I started volunteering with Wellspring Living in college and went through their training program. After college, I got my masters in Nonprofit Administration in the School of Social Work and my thesis project was to create a program proposal.

I worked with Captain Sandra Pawar (now an officer in Australia) to create a program proposal for a drop-in center at their corps (church). They were in a community where trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation was rampant, and they wanted to see how they could serve survivors. Following graduation, I was hired to implement this program proposal and worked with the Pawars to build the program. It is still going strong today and is led by Melba Robinson—her and her team are amazing! (https://havenatl.org/) 

P: Overall, how does the USA Southern Territory help human trafficking survivors? 

HD: We have programs ranging from outreach, intensive case management, drop-in center, emergency housing, transitional housing and long-term care. One value across all our programs is trauma-informed care and empowering survivors to work towards their goals to move forward. Even in locations where there is not an AHT program, we serve vulnerable children and adults which includes survivors of trafficking. Sometimes we may identify trafficking survivors and other times we may never know, therefore we work to train not only AHT programs but officers, case managers and staff across all services. 

P: Can you tell us more about the #FightforFreedom strategy? 

HD: The #FightforFreedom strategy was created as we had a vision to break down some of the internal lines we draw in The Salvation Army, we wanted to better collaborate across all four USA Territories and have a unified vision for fighting trafficking. All four Territories signed on to this strategy and we work together to better equip our programs, create better communication so that survivors needing care across states/territories can easily find other TSA resources. This also has opened doors for us to present at the United Nations Annual Commission on the Status of Women where we shared our National Fight for Freedom Strategy and connected with other advocates from around the world. 

P: What impact do you hope to see with The Salvation Army’s Southern Territory expanded efforts into anti-human trafficking in the years to come? 

HD: Recently, IHQ has made fighting modern slavery an international priority! They have launched an International Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Response Strategy, which is very encouraging. The Salvation Army is deeply committed to fighting MHST (Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking). We have a theological and historical mandate and believe we are uniquely equipped to fight for freedom in all 131 countries that we are serving in around the world. Catherine Booth said: “If we are to better the future, we must disturb the present.” Human trafficking is commodifying men, women and children and is a horrific human rights issue that is often under the surface and difficult to identify. It is my hope that our Territory will continue to embrace this international priority and support our existing programs and see new programs serving survivors of trafficking open. This is easier said than done and we face a lot of challenges with education, training, internal red tape and funding—but I hope to see growth so that we can serve even more survivors in the future. 

P: How can high school and college-aged young adults get involved with anti-human trafficking work at this age? 

HD: I LOVE seeing high school and young adults engaged in fighting trafficking! As I shared, I was 15 when I first found out about this injustice. I think the first step is to get educated on this issue—there are many resources to learn and grow in this area. We have monthly free webinars at www.sajustice.us and there is also a free training with one of our partners at https://learnwithjusticeu.com/. Awareness and Education are the first step—it is important to be equipped before jumping in because sometimes if we are not informed, then we can cause more harm than good! I also have seen young people host documentary screenings at their church to raise awareness or collect gifts around holidays for survivors.

One high schooler asked her parents to use the money they would have used for her own Christmas gifts to buy gifts for the survivors at HavenATL! I was so impacted by her willingness to sacrifice and serve in this way. I would also encourage you to contact local AHT programs and ask about their volunteer trainings and opportunities. Since these programs often have restrictions with volunteering due to protecting the survivors they are serving, they may require certain age limits or training before volunteering, but it would be good to investigate what you could do to serve! We also believe in the power of prayer—every year, the Salvation Army hosts an International Annual Day of Prayer for Victims of Trafficking, this is a great way youth can engage in fighting trafficking at your church! You can find resources for the day of prayer at: https://sajustice.us/fight-for-freedom/annual-day-of-prayer-for-ht-victims/.

Echelon Member Spotlight: Kally Behen

The National Echelon Leadership Council (ELC) is excited to welcome its newest member, Kally Behen, to the team. Kally was the founding president of the Echelon San Diego chapter. Though she recently moved to Seattle, she remains connected to her fellow Echelon members in San Diego and is helping to train and onboard the new chapter president. She has also already connected with The Salvation Army team in Seattle where she plans to get involved with Echelon efforts there as well.

Kally is filling the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Chair role on the Echelon Leadership Council. 

Kally has a Master of Science in management and leadership from Western Governor’s University as well as a Bachelor of Science in psychology from Washington State University. In being active in her community and workplace advocating for human rights and inclusion, she continuously looks for new ways to give back.

During her previous employment with Deloitte, Kally helped develop and support the organization’s Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and other DEI initiatives both at her workplace and within the larger community. Kally is excited to help identify DEI needs within Echelon and connect the ELC with relevant DEI experts to produce training and resources for chapters nationwide.

By Katie Seifu, National Echelon Manager

Partnership Highlights 

The USA territories are coalition partners with the End It Movement, a movement of global partners to raise awareness and help move people towards action. 

In the Japan Territory, The Salvation Army partners with Lighthouse Ministries, which conducts street outreach to women. Those identified by The Salvation Army team as potential victims of MSHT (Modern Slavery Human Trafficking) are referred to one of two of the territory’s shelters to seek assistance.  

Proof Highlights

In USA Southern, Project FIGHT worked with the Human Trafficking Commission on the Public Health committee to develop an evidence-based curriculum for healthcare professionals on awareness, recognizing and trauma-informed approaches to working with a victim of human trafficking. 

*These highlights are taken from the “Roots of Freedom” Report, the 2020 International Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Response.

Prevention Highlights

Across the India Southeastern Territory, the Community Empowerment Program rendered its services across nine divisions, including 155 corps (churches), to assist in developing the economic and social status of those involved in the program. There are 361 self-help groups across the territory which provide business skills training and loans, with a membership of about 5,584 women. Participation in the self-help groups equips women with the skill training for small-scale businesses, providing a resource to develop skills and supply hope. Integrated into the program, the women receive awareness training on MSHT (Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking). The prevention messaging provides the members with the knowledge to be aware of the different forms of modern slavery, so they are equipped to recognize and address human trafficking within their own communities.