DAWNE LOMANGINO-DiMAURO: When I go out and talk to people, I say, New Jersey is really ahead of the game. We have key individuals here in New Jersey that were so vested in the Human Trafficking Prevention, Protection, and Treatment Act that it was unanimously passed. So now, with the laws, we're able to intercede and provide intervention much earlier so we have better outcomes. Prior to that, 14, 15, 16 years old were getting arrested for prostitution, put in juvenile justice, and not receiving any services.
Everyone in the world has the right to own themselves and not be looked at as an object or a commodity. A person is not something that you buy. The work that we do is heavy. The streets are a draw if you grow up on them. So when you haven't healed yet, this is the safe place for them. You know, this is where they know—this is where they know how to survive, so they run back, unfortunately. You know, I've been working in interpersonal violence for years, but this work—I've never seen horror like I've seen on this job. It builds a trust, right?
WILLIAM MONAGHAN, CHIEF OF POLICE, CHERRY HILL NEW JERSEY: It does. The trust is there immediately.
DAWNE LOMANGINO-DiMAURO: Our work with law enforcement is innovative.
WILLIAM MONAGHAN: When we encounter a victim, our ultimate goal is to try and remove them from the situation that they're in. The victims are brought into a police station, an environment that is unfamiliar to them, and they don't necessarily believe that we do want to help them, so Dream Catchers comes in at that point.
DAWNE LOMANGINO-DiMAURO: We talk about trauma, and so law enforcement has a trauma-informed lens. We have to make sure the survivors and the victims are protected are arrested and convicted.
WILLIAM MONAGHAN: Dream Catchers makes that connection and builds that trust with the victim to try and get the victim to give us information about the person that's holding them.
DAWNE LOMANGINO-DiMAURO: Most of our clients need extensive support and therapeutic treatment. Then they can start identifying the things that were exploited in themselves, whether it's sex trafficking, labor trafficking, et cetera. And then we feel like they're moving toward survivorship. And we continue that path until they're thriving, if they allow us to stay in their lives.
