Rockson Arnold is an actor, director, CEO, and Creative Director of Rockeagle Pictures, a Michigan-based media company specializing in documentary films, commercials, and live events. A member of the Detroit Economic Club, Arnold is actively engaged in economic revitalization efforts in Pontiac and across Oakland County. His work focuses on storytelling as a catalyst for social change, particularly through film and media.  In collaboration with Hope Against Trafficking, law enforcement leaders, subject-matter experts, and federal agencies, Arnold is producing a feature-length documentary on human trafficking in Michigan titled Not in My Mitten, scheduled for release in 2027. The documentary aims to raise awareness, educate the public, and inspire collective action by examining human trafficking through the lens of survivors, professionals, and community leaders across multiple sectors.

Also presenting was Barb Rausch, Vice President and founding member of Hope Against Trafficking, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Pontiac. Since its founding, Hope Against Trafficking has focused on survivor restoration, education, and prevention. Rausch and the organization have been instrumental in advancing both long-term recovery services and statewide awareness initiatives.

Since 2000, with the explosion of the internet and social media, trafficking victimization in the United States has quadrupled. While early efforts nationwide focused primarily on rescue, research revealed a critical gap in Michigan's long-term recovery programs, particularly in those addressing physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual healing alongside life skills and job training. The average age at which victims are first exploited is between 12 and 16 years old, making education and GED completion a priority for survivor independence.

Hope Against Trafficking was established to address these unmet needs. Opened in 2018, the organization now operates four residential homes in Pontiac. Its mission is to restore the lives of adult female survivors of human trafficking while simultaneously educating the broader community. The organization’s work is structured around four primary pillars: Safe Housing and Healing, Comprehensive Programming, Community Awareness and Education, and Social Enterprise.

Hope’s two-year residential program provides survivors with a secure environment to rest, recover, and rebuild their identities. Residents receive trauma-informed services including art therapy, equine therapy, financial literacy education, job skills development, and personal growth support. These services are designed to help survivors heal from complex PTSD and regain confidence and independence.

An innovative component of Hope’s program is its social enterprise, where residents learn to create natural soaps, lotions, scrubs, and body products using essential oils and clean ingredients. This initiative is not merely about product creation; it is a practical business-training platform that teaches transferable skills such as teamwork, quality control, budgeting, and entrepreneurship. To date, Hope Against Trafficking has served more than 60 women through its residential program.

While survivor restoration is essential, Hope’s broader mission centers on prevention and education. Over the past decade, the organization has developed deep expertise in understanding the patterns, risks, and root causes of trafficking. More than 15,000 people have attended Hope’s Human Trafficking Overview presentations, which are offered to community groups, churches, professionals, and organizations throughout Michigan.

In spring 2023, Hope aligned with A Courageous Voice to implement a certified K–12, grade-based, age-appropriate curriculum from the Monique Burr Foundation on Cyber Safety and Security. This evidence-based curriculum helps children and youth prevent, recognize, and respond appropriately to all forms of abuse, including bullying, cyberbullying, digital exploitation, sexual abuse, and trafficking. The program teaches students how to identify safe adults, recognize unsafe situations online and offline, and develop strategies for personal safety.

Human trafficking exists in every zip code in Michigan. Education is the first and most critical step in combating it. Many survivors live with trauma comparable to that experienced by combat veterans, often suffering from complex PTSD. While rescue efforts depend on law enforcement, prevention depends on everyday people—parents, educators, medical professionals, neighbors, and community members, who recognize warning signs and choose to intervene.

The average age of entry into trafficking is approximately 12 years old. Children are often targeted because of vulnerability, isolation, or unmet emotional needs. Warning signs may include unexplained injuries, sudden changes in behavior or grades, avoidance of eye contact, or withdrawal from trusted relationships. These indicators are frequently overlooked.

The National Human Trafficking Hotline (888-373-7888) is a vital resource. A single call can save a life. Hope Against Trafficking has also trained truck drivers, who frequently encounter trafficking at rest areas and transit corridors, as victims are often moved across cities, counties, and borders. Michigan’s extensive freeway system and proximity to Canada make it a strategic location for traffickers.

The issue has grown more complex in recent years. Federal reports show an alarming increase in organ trafficking connected to human trafficking. At the same time, children are increasingly being targeted through smartphones, gaming platforms, and social media. Predators use disguised apps that appear as common tools, such as calculators or messaging icons, to conceal communication with victims.

Parents and caregivers often underestimate how much their children are exposed to online. Many children see content far more graphic and dangerous than adults realize. Education must therefore extend beyond children to parents, grandparents, and caregivers, equipping them to understand technology, monitor devices, and set firm boundaries. Law enforcement officials consistently report that illicit images and communications are most often created in bedrooms and bathrooms, underscoring the importance of removing phones from these private spaces.

The most significant precursor to human trafficking is abuse. Approximately 40 percent of victims are trafficked by someone they know, including family members. Abuse can take many forms, such as sexual, physical, emotional, bullying, and substance-related, and often begins long before trafficking occurs. Nationally, one in four girls and one in thirteen boys will experience abuse before age 18. Without intervention, abuse frequently repeats across a lifetime.

Prevention is both morally and economically essential. The cost of implementing the Monique Burr Foundation curriculum averages about six dollars per child per year. Over a K–12 education, that investment totals approximately $65 per student. In contrast, the lifetime cost of caring for one abused individual—including healthcare, mental health services, lost productivity, and social support—averages $285,000. Prevention truly is worth more than a cure.

Rockson Arnold emphasized the power of storytelling as a driver of cultural change. Drawing on the concept of the “Seven Mountains of Influence”—religion, family, education, business, government, arts and entertainment, and media—he explained how film can unify these sectors around a shared message. The press can educate, shape values, and prompt action in ways that statistics alone cannot.

Not in My Mitten is designed to be accessible and appropriate for families, including parents and teens, while still conveying the seriousness of the issue. Rather than relying solely on statistics, the documentary centers on the voices and lived experiences of survivors. It brings together perspectives from law enforcement, healthcare professionals, educators, non-profit leaders, faith leaders, and policymakers.

Human trafficking thrives in silence and ignorance. It is not confined to distant places or unfamiliar communities—it exists here, now, and affects children and adults alike. Through survivor restoration, education, and collaborative storytelling, Hope Against Trafficking and Not in My Mitten seek to confront this reality and offer hope for healing, prevention, and a future where children and survivors are protected, seen, and supported.

Together, by opening our eyes, educating our communities, and choosing to act, we can help ensure that human trafficking is truly not allowed to exist in our mitten-shaped state.