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Carlie Fischer is the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault system coordinator.
If you or someone you know needs resources of support related to sex trafficking, contact the Maine National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888 for free 24/7 confidential services.
Earlier this month, Maine’s anti-trafficking advocates were shaken by the news that Preble Street’s anti-trafficking services were essentially defunded. For over a decade, Preble Street has been a pillar of Maine’s response, providing steady leadership and direct, individualized support that survivors trust. Their team has stood with survivors and their families in extraordinarily difficult moments, and the loss of their programming would leave a painful gap in our state’s ability to respond to human trafficking.
This decision is particularly troubling at a time when the federal government has repeatedly named human trafficking as a top national priority. Declaring a commitment to end trafficking means nothing if it isn’t matched with sustained support for those who are doing the work on the ground. Survivors deserve more than words. They deserve continuity of care, expertise, and safety.
Losing Preble Street’s programming will disrupt a vital network of coordinated care. The Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MECASA) is proud to be a leader in this work, offering direct support to survivors and managing the Maine Human Trafficking Survivor Fund, which provides low-barrier cash assistance to trafficking providers statewide to help survivors meet basic needs.
In my role at MECASA, I convene the Maine Sex Trafficking and Exploitation Network, which gives me a clear vantage point on the importance of a coalition approach to prevention and response. I have seen firsthand that partnership is a necessity — not an option — and no single organization can replace what is at risk of being lost with Preble Street’s program. The needs are too great, the caseloads too complex, and the consequences too high.
With gaps in the anti-trafficking system, survivors will increasingly turn to emergency services, but hospitals and police stations are not designed to provide long-term safety or healing. Relying on them as a default response is both expensive and deeply inefficient.
It’s also important to understand that federal trafficking statutes are written to cover nearly any case involving interstate commerce or internet activity, so most trafficking incidents in Maine fall under federal jurisdiction. These are not problems Maine can or should be expected to solve alone. When programming like Preble Street’s is eliminated, states are left to shoulder an impossible burden with inadequate authority and resources. Defunding this work passes the buck onto communities that are already stretched thin, which is both bad policy and a failure to uphold national commitments.
But we won’t abandon our friends at Preble Street or the survivors who rely on them, and we hope you will join us. With the right attention and advocacy, Mainers can mobilize to turn this around. Federal priorities should reflect the needs of everyday people, and one of Maine’s clearest needs right now is supporting trafficking survivors.
If you want to combat human trafficking in your communities, raise your voice. Talk to your friends and call your legislators. Tell them that the most meaningful action we can take to fight trafficking is sustaining the resources that have a proven record of promoting safety, resilience, and wellbeing — like Preble Street. And until federal funding keeps pace with the need, consider supporting stopgap efforts like the Maine Human Trafficking Survivor Fund, which makes sure survivors aren’t left without food, shelter, or safety.
Trafficking survivors deserve unwavering commitment, multiple pathways to services, and the strength of a full coalition, including Preble Street. Maine is ready to keep doing its part, but we cannot do it without strong federal partnership.
