Karen
What steps/ways are there that I need to make/do to work with human trafficking?
I am a college student in Oklahoma. I am going for my Bachelors degree in rehabilitation counseling and have my associates in child development. I know I want to work with children and teens/young adults dealing with foster/adoption and human trafficking. My passion is to be there for them and help them re-establish themselves into society. Being a person for them to count on and come when they feel at their worst. Being bilingual is a big
plus since I have been speaking both English and Spanish since I was little. But it seems very tricky to find a place where you can find an internship/job for this. Any ideas?
1 answer
Kim Igleheart
Kim’s Answer
Karen,
Sometimes you have to make your own career path! One step leads to the next. The degree is essential, so you want to stick with that. I think the training you can get as a CASA volunteer will be good for you and look good on a resume. CASA is "Court Appointed Special Advocate." Your local group covers both Potontoc and Hughes Counties, serving abused and neglected children. http://www.adacasa.org/
You may want to consider a minor/electives in the Criminal Justice curriculum. Having a degree in Sociology, and then a career as a police officer, I can tell you that sometimes there is a bit of a "disconnect" between law enforcement and social services. That is, some law enforcement personnel look at social service personnel as "idealistic" with no true grounding in "reality." Unfair? maybe. But, having had the unpleasant experience of having to work with social service personnel on a personal level, I can say it is sometimes an accurate assessment. I think that exposure to criminal justice will help you. You might even consider doing "ride-alongs" with the local police.
The State of Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs has a "youth service location with an emergency shelter" in Potontoc County. As runaways are targets of human traffickers, this may be something to look at. Or, if there is a Crisis hotline, or runaway hotline, . . . You may also want to look at the state's other social service agencies, as well as tribal agencies, and various churches.
The website Guidestar.org provides information on nonprofits. With a free membership, you can filter it to Ada, OK. and find 187 nonprofits. Look in the column to the right to see how much money they handle. You can likely volunteer or intern at one of them. There are six matches for foster and adoption, and 41 for youth (but only 14 that have any money). Focus on the ones with the money -the others are less likely to be active. An equivalent number when searching by "child," but I imagine there is some overlap.
What about work history? Have you had any jobs? I would try to acquire experience in customer service and interview skills. While it is waaay off from where you are trying to get to, I know of some animal shelters that are just as strict in their adoption process as are human adoption agencies! You have to ask "nosey" questions, and figure out if a person/dog are a good match.
When you are applying for jobs, it is up to you to show how your experience relates to the type of position you are applying for. Using the previous example, if you just write "adoption counselor - animal shelter" it won't carry any weight. But if you write "asked probing questions to ascertain if the applicant was a good match for the dog's temperment" (or something like that) they will see the relevance. It's called "transferable job skills" and learning to do this is essential to your career search being successful!
Sorry for the wordiness! Happy to provide any additional help!
Kim