GREEN BAY, Wis. — Sara Thomson is an outreach advocate for Awaken Justice.
She always knew she wanted to serve the community in some way.
“I wanted to be a police officer but my husband was in the military, so it just didn’t work out,” said Thomson.
She then fell in love with social service work while living in Baltimore with recovering addicts.
“When I moved [to Green Bay] I volunteered with the sexual assault center, so I had a little bit of exposure to what human trafficking looked like,” said Thomson.
That experience eventually led to Thomson working full time with human trafficking survivors at Awaken Wisconsin as an outreach coordinator.
“These ladies are resilient and fierce and they are really inspiring to be around,” said Thomson.
Awaken is a faith-based nonprofit organization with the goal of increasing awareness and education about sexual exploitation.
It was first established in Reno, Nevada, in 2011. In 2022, Kasia Klaus and her husband moved to Wisconsin and decided to expand the organization.
“We noticed a gap in services for women and girls coming in and out of sex trafficking or sexual exploitation,” said Klaus. “We knew it was a problem here, but we didn’t actually know what the numbers looked like.”
Since Awaken Wisconsin was opened in 2022, it has served over 80 women, which amounts to one and a half referrals every week.
Klaus said most of the referrals are coming from their jail outreach program at the Brown County Jail.
“We go and meet the women where they are at when they are incarcerated,” said Klaus. “Women are in a vulnerable state and they are also separated from their traffickers, so they are more willing to receive services.”
The program is led by Thomson. She often finds herself going to the jail four times a week and helping 10-15 women at a time.
“When I first meet a client I let them know that I am there for them,” said Thomson. “A lot of times what we end up working on are life skills that they can hopefully utilize when they are out as well.”
Before these women come in contact with Awaken and go through the jail outreach program, they often meet Detective Craig Pakkala at the Green Bay Police Department.
“Several cases I have worked on have basically dealt with a vulnerable population of drug addiction and homelessness in Green Bay,” said Pakkala.
Pakkala specializes in combating human trafficking. He said traffickers often target those with vulnerabilities, such as poverty, homelessness or drug addiction.
“Having a smaller city and concentrating them in one general area, this makes an open atmosphere for predators to prey on those who are subject to those kinds of activities,” said Pakkala.
A large majority of Green Bay’s homeless population resides in or around Saint John’s Park, an area that has a direct connection to cases Pakkala has worked on.
“You have to continually do these cases and stay on these people who are involved,” said Pakkala. “Tracking them down, establishing relationships with the victims and that’s why I say I chip away at it every single day.”
Once the survivors make their way to the jail, Thomson spends time figuring out how to help them.
The amount of time she spends with them depends on their sentence. Sometimes that can be two weeks or a matter of months.
In that time, she teaches the women how to handle anxiety, time management and conflict resolution.
“The hope is always that something that we work on now while they are fully engaged and don’t have the distractions will carry over for them when they get out,” said Thomson.
The trauma that trafficking leaves these women with often never goes away. Thomson said she is still in contact with women she met when she first started.
“Sometimes they are out for two months and I don’t hear a word from them but then out of the blue I get an email from them or a text from them and I would say that is the first step to success,” said Thomson.
Pakkala said he wants the public to know they have a part to play in this as well by educating themselves.
“People in the area who are involved in the hotel industry, people that work in the casino or bars and taverns that are of larger scale should be aware of human trafficking,” said Pakkala. “Our city officials and individuals who work around parks should also be aware of it because that’s where people are homeless, in need or drug dependent.”
It is important that you contact the Green Bay police or Awaken Wisconsin if you believe human trafficking is taking place around you.
If you are in need of help or know someone that is, you can contact Awaken Wisconsin by calling 920-333-1701, following this link or stopping by the Green Bay Awaken Center at 1654 Morrow St, Green Bay, WI 54302.