“It’s complicated.” These words were heard several times on Monday, January 20, as Bishop Timothy Senior visited the YWCA of Greater Harrisburg. The bishop’s visit on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was to see firsthand and learn more about the work the YWCA is accomplishing to assist and support victims and survivors of human trafficking.
“We were delighted to hear from Bishop Senior that, in his pastoral letter, he talked about human trafficking. This is one of the works that we do here at the YWCA and we consider ourselves thought leaders on that subject,” said Mary Quinn, president and CEO of the YWCA of Greater Harrisburg.
The bishop’s visit to the YWCA came on the heels of the release of his first pastoral letter, “Setting Captives Free: A Pastoral Letter on Human Trafficking,” and was a fitting way to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“We’re here today to talk about human trafficking, about human rights, and I think it’s really poignant on MLK day to have this conversation about civil rights and human rights and how they interplay with one another,” Quinn added.
“As the Bishop of Harrisburg, I really have an obligation, a moral obligation, to speak out on behalf of those who are voiceless. I discovered shortly after I came here that we have a serious problem in our society in general, not just in central Pennsylvania, but it (human trafficking) is an issue here. There are victims and survivors of human trafficking in our midst,” said Bishop Senior. “I wanted to try and shine a light on that so we can be advocating on their (the survivors) behalf and do all we can to eradicate this in our society, and to reach out to those who are suffering.”
Quinn shared with the bishop that the YWCA program houses 113 women and children. The majority of human trafficking cases referred to the YWCA come through law enforcement agencies, and this program is the only one in Pennsylvania that receives federal funding. In addition to providing a safe place for survivors of human trafficking, the YWCA works with these women, children and families to help them find safe housing, jobs and, if needed, work through immigration concerns and provide counseling support.
“We want to help people build a better community,” said Quinn, who added they work primarily with labor and sex trafficking survivors.
Rhonda Hendrickson, chief operations officer of the YWCA, manages the human trafficking work for the organization and shared some heart wrenching stories with the bishop, including about a family of eight who recently came to the YWCA after working on a mushroom farm.
“All but the two babies have been victims of labor trafficking,” she said, adding that if a mother couldn’t work, one of the children was sent instead and sexual assaults were frequent.
“It’s not just the undocumented. We see it right here,” Hendrickson said, adding that the YWCA works with a number of agencies depending on each situation. “It’s very challenging and very complex.”
“Visiting here today, I already know they (the YWCA) do tremendous work to assist those who find themselves in this situation of being trafficked, which is horrific…and to also find out if there is some way the Diocese of Harrisburg and the Catholic community can assist. Martin Luther King Day is a day of service, when we call to mind the great witness of Dr. Martin Luther King, who really put himself out there to be a spokesperson for the voiceless and particularly to bring about a greater respect for all human dignity and human rights. I believe that people who are living with the situation of being trafficked certainly have their rights deprived. Their dignity is not being respected,” said Bishop Senior. “Pope Francis has been a very vocal advocate for the worldwide problem of human trafficking. When you stop to think about it, it’s hard to imagine that in our society today, with all our sophistication and growth that this could still be going on.”
“I hope with Bishop Senior’s leadership, that he is able to convey what human trafficking really looks like, the trauma involved. We want people to know that we are a resource. Human trafficking happens in plain sight…trafficking really centers around force, fraud and coercion,” added Quinn. “What people don’t realize is that people who are part of human trafficking may appear they are participating willingly and they are not.”
To learn more about the YWCA and it’s programs, visit www.ywcahbg.org. Bishop Senior’s pastoral letter can be found at www.hbgdiocese.org/humantrafficking/.
(Photos by Chris Heisey, The Catholic Witness.)
By Rachel A. Bryson, The Catholic Witness
