Community members in Pendleton and Mission have formed a task force to combat human trafficking in Umatilla County.
The task force is one of 14 that cover 21 of Oregon’s 36 counties. It was established earlier this year, after a human trafficking information session the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation hosted.
Human trafficking is a crime — one considered a form of modern slavery — exploiting a person to perform labor services or paid sex acts by force, fraud or coercion. It can happen to minors or adults of any gender, race or class, but more vulnerable populations tend to be more highly trafficked. Estimates from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security say labor or sex trafficking, or both, victimizes about 25 million people worldwide.
In Oregon in 2023, the National Human Trafficking Hotline identified 132 cases of human trafficking with 248 victims involved. Of those cases, 81 were sex trafficking, 13 were labor trafficking and 22 constituted both kinds. The remaining cases may have unknown or unspecified trafficking types.
Being the bridge
The Umatilla County Human Trafficking Task Force has representatives from different parts of the community and is partnering with local law enforcement and state agencies to provide support for victims.
“I feel like one of the issues is that there’s a lot of different support services out there, and resources, but they don’t all know about each other,” said Randall Melton, a member of Umatilla’s force. “I can’t think of a more important way to help somebody, I guess, just being able to get that available for them.”
Willa Wallace, one of the leaders of the task force, said it’s important to her to fill the need in this area because of experience she had with domestic violence.
“After being in that type of situation and not knowing exactly where I was supposed to go,” Wallace said, “if we can prevent that for anyone, (I want to).”
Amanda Swanson is the human trafficking intervention coordinator with the Oregon Department of Justice. She sits on the DOJ’s Crime Victim and Survivor Services Division Trafficking Intervention Advisory Committee, helping coordinate the statewide response to child and youth sex trafficking.
“Our goal eventually is that every county will either have a task force or be part of one so that they can build their response to what human trafficking looks like,” Swanson said. “But again, we’re trying to leave it really open so that the counties can figure out what works for them.”
Task forces build the response to human trafficking at a local level, she said. They also help connect various services, such as law enforcement, child welfare, juvenile justice and the district attorney’s office.
The Oregon Department of Justice and the advisory committee assist with getting the task forces set up and helping them solve problems. Each task force coordinator participates in a monthly call to learn from those in other areas who are facing similar challenges. Additionally, Swanson said, she’s helping train members of the task forces so they can lead trainings themselves for local agencies.
“When I’ve seen these task forces be successful, it’s because there’s a ton of community support and a community outcry,” she said. “I think that that is essential for the community to identify and say, ‘This isn’t going to happen in our town, these kids are worth putting something together and helping them find resources.’ ”
To contact the task force, email UmatillaCountyHumanTrafficking@gmail.com or call 1-833-256-4357 (HELP).
