LAS VEGAS NV — Nevada ranks second in the country for human trafficking according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
First responders in Clark County are learning how to spot the signs of human trafficking and trying to curb the growing number of incidents.
One survivor, Chelsea Hutton told KTNV about the time she first met her trafficker.
He showed me understanding and compassion and talked to me as if I was something great and I could achieve something great and that brought new light to my life," Hutton said. "So when he told me he would only be with me if I worked with him in sex work and work for him as my pimp I couldn't say no."
Hutton was only 19 and says it didn't take long before she was forced into the world of sex work with no way out.
She continued, "I was going to school and that's where he was, he would be standing outside the student center and he would talk to me as I would walk by and one of his friends would walk by me in my journalism class so we started hanging out."
Hutton says she's had multiple encounters with law enforcement and first responders, non of which she says were helpful.
"It really led me to accept my life and accept that no one was coming to help," she said.
That's where Matthew Driscoll, with Las Vegas Fire and Rescue, comes in. He's been working with first responders across the Las Vegas valley to change the way they interact with potential victims of human trafficking.
"Our goal here was to teach first responders and front-line responders how to treat and transport victims of human trafficking," he told KTNV.
He says first responders are the first line of defense for victims potentially getting out of deadly situations.
"A lot of the time we're on the scene and it's just us. If I'm the paramedic on the scene and Metro isn't there, we're not able to identify the situation and these patients will run circles around us," he said.
This training is a trauma-informed approach, where first responders are taught proper body language and questioning techniques. But signs on how to spot human trafficking are not one-size-fits-all.
"It varies from situation to situation, but at the heart of it, it's more relatable than what people might think," Hutton said. "A lot of my trafficking situation was similar to an abusive relationship."
As Nevada continues to rank second for human trafficking, Driscoll says the work to save lives and curb these numbers will continue to grow and adapt.
