Human trafficking is considered one of the most profitable criminal enterprises worldwide, generating roughly $150 billion each year.
Given that massive challenge, the anti-trafficking ministry Helping Captives is on a mission to serve trafficked women across the U.S. by providing opportunities for freedom and safety through prevention, intervention, and recovery services.
“A lot of times they’re on fentanyl, heroin, meth, they’ve been abused five to ten times a day, and they need emergency stabilization care, and that’s what we focus on, and that’s what we specialize in,” Founder and CEO Caleb Altmeyer told CBN News.
The Spokane, Washington-based group has rescued more than 400 trafficking victims.
Altmeyer launched the ministry after learning from a friend how extensive trafficking had become.
“Our neighbor girl that was like a babysitter to me growing up came over to our house and told us her real story 20 years later and she had been trafficked by her parents from the age six and it just shocked our family,” explained Altmeyer.
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In 2017, the ministry’s first safe house opened. It was a move that proved more intense than expected.
“When we got into this, it was a lot more extreme than we thought,” said Altmeyer. “And we need to have professional staff. We need to have people that were experts in their field, experts in mental health, experts in helping people get off of drugs. We thought we were going to help maybe two or three women if we found them. We had 21 women go through our house in nine months.”
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, over 90 percent of detected trafficking victims worldwide are women and girls.
“I think it’s drug sales and then sex trafficking and then gun sales and stuff like that,” Altmeyer shared. “So, it’s an extreme problem that we’re seeing. I think what was interesting for me to realize is that I think over 50 percent of the sex trafficking cases actually happen in North America. That was a shocking statistic for me to understand.”
To meet its growing needs, the ministry sought a 24-7 “Freedom Center” where law enforcement could bring victims. That led them to a former strip club, which they felt God wanted to repurpose.
“My wife and I were sitting on the couch and it was like something just hit us and we thought, ‘Maybe God’s crazy enough that he would take a building that’s known for exploiting women and turn it into a place that heals women coming out of sex trafficking,'” commented Altmeyer.
Altmeyer shared the story of a young girl whose family trafficked her as part of a satanic ritual.
“She had multiple personality disorder,” explained Altmeyer. “God healed that, and she is now on our staff. She actually had a tattoo that miraculously disappeared, and she was branded with that tattoo, and God had that tattoo disappear. God is good, and he’s doing some amazing things, and we’re seeing people get set free and getting into a new life and finding hope in Jesus.”
Real healing and transformation are taking place one life at a time.
