Covenant House Newsroom

On July 30, the global community stands together against human trafficking. Covenant House honors our frontline workers who ensure safety, protection, and healing for young survivors of human trafficking. Covenant House sites across the six countries where we operate have expanded specialized services for survivors. The following profiles are leaders at our sites in Pennsylvania, Alaska, and Toronto (and Honduras, in our accompanying story here) who work on the frontline to meet the immediate needs of survivors and help them to heal and thrive. 

When Natalie Proud came to Covenant House Pennsylvania (CHPA) as an outreach intern, she knew very little about human trafficking and had never encountered a survivor before. Over the 11 years since, she has grown adept at navigating the encounter, meeting a survivor’s immediate needs, and showing survivors, in their own terms, absolute respect and love. 

“You may have only 30 seconds to engage with a young person on the street because they’re being watched all the time,” she says, “and so you show them moments of humanity and kindness.” Like asking them by what name they’d like to be called. “Trafficking survivors have no choice. They don’t get to choose what and when to eat; they don’t even get to choose what socks to wear. So asking them a simple question like what do you want us to call you, is giving them a choice. Choice is one of Covenant House’s core principles.” 

The challenge, adds Natalie, who today is CHPA’s associate director of programs, “is to let survivors know we’re there for them. We’re not there to save them. We’re there for them. A trafficked person will usually give us a street name. Then, one day, they may give us their real name. That means they trust us.” 

Navigating that trust with respect and love, even when a survivor’s path to healing is full of twists and setbacks, is something Natalie has learned, and it has fueled her passion to be there for our young people. Once you hear the young people speak their experiences of human trafficking, she says, “there’s no way you can’t do something about it.” 

Josie Heyano joined Covenant House Alaska in 2018 as a Youth Engagement Specialist Shift Lead and became the associate program coordinator within a few months. It was immediately clear that Josie has a natural connection with our young people because of her background as a native Alaskan and as a social worker. Since October 2020, Josie’s work at Covenant House Alaska has been centered around the trafficking prevention and intervention program.

Josie says the young people at Covenant House Alaska, especially survivors of human trafficking, give her so much hope and they make her want to show up for work every day. She says they all got through the pandemic together and it amazes her that “with all of the other crises and trauma they experienced in their life, they still get up every morning and they want to play games and tell jokes, and they still show up for each other.” 

Our youth love Josie because she is patient, empathetic, and a great listener, and she also has high expectations of them because she cares. She says she witnesses “some of the bravest, kindest and most inspirational young people walking through some of life’s hardest things and sometimes, if they let me, I get to walk beside them.”

Sex trafficking is a growing crime in Canada. It is often under-reported, under-estimated, and largely misunderstood. This crime is affecting the lives of countless young women and girls in Canada. Covenant House Toronto is a leader in the work to reach and support survivors of human trafficking. 

Julie Neubauer, manager of human trafficking programs at Covenant House Toronto says, "Survivors are connected to our team of advocates and front line workers because something criminal has occurred. These girls are exploited, tricked, coaxed and coerced.” She says they need housing, food, money, and, frequently, help overcoming a reliance on drugs and alcohol as a coping strategy. 

“They also need predictability, choice, and to find their voice,” Julie adds. “Everyday our staff navigate psychological hurdles and the team does remarkable and intense work. They help survivors know that people can be good." 

As Julie reflects on this work and how those who bear witness to human trafficking are affected, she says, “They see firsthand how trauma truly affects human beings -- it can stop you in your tracks. I know that they themselves are impacted by it. It is vital that they have the care and capacity for self-care to do this work."

Covenant House has nearly half a century of providing trusted and transformative care and shelter to young people facing homelessness across the Americas. Today, we are poised to advance our leadership role in the fight against human trafficking thanks to the essential team members who have shaped how Covenant House identifies, responds to, advocates for, and sources for programs that support survivors of human trafficking.