Human trafficking happens everywhere, including right here in Maine. Children and adults of all genders, ages, and races are forced to do farm labor and many other types of work through threats, physical and sexual violence, and psychological coercion. In the summer, farms hire more seasonal and day laborers for the harvest and planting season, and this increase in demand for labor also puts vulnerable populations at greater risk of labor trafficking and exploitation.  

Hailey Virusso, director of Preble Street Anti-Trafficking Services (ATS), explains, “When you lack basic needs you have a higher risk of exploitation, not having a safe place to live, not having food, not having access to clean water.” Traffickers are skilled at exploiting people’s basic needs and entrapping people. “The employer is paying them less than they agreed upon, maybe they’re not being paid at all, and the housing provided is substandard. They control your transportation, but the people in charge tell them that they can go. Buty, you can’t really leave,” says Hailey.

Thanks to funding from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, Preble Street’s Anti-Trafficking Services (ATS) team has a dedicated Labor Trafficking and Exploitation Services and Identification Program that does seasonal outreach to connect specifically with survivors of labor trafficking. This happens leading up to and during the summer months, when there is high demand for farm labor and seasonal workers.