Houston Republic

CHRISTUS Health Southeast Texas Health System is training health care workers to fight sex trafficking.

The victims are often right there, before their eyes.

Kids being trafficked for sex. Children forced into horrific abuse. Victims who don’t know who to ask for help, who will help rescue them.

Women and men in southeast Texas who see these kids, and treat them when they are brought to medical facilities, are being trained how to recognize these victims and how to help them break free. The CHRISTUS Southeast Texas Health System is training its staff and others in health care on how to recognize minors being trafficked for sex.

Because they do see them. CHRISTUS said, via its Facebook page, that 80 percent of kids who are being abused in this fashion are brought to medical facilities, with more than two-thirds coming to emergency rooms.

“CHRISTUS Southeast Texas Health System wants to help reduce that number,” according to a Jan. 29 post. “This week, we began leading and hosting a series of seminars to train health care workers on how to spot the signs of sex trafficking and help those victims.

The presentations are possible because of a grant provided by the state of Texas. The goal is to train 1,000 health care workers this year; the original goal was 450 but the state of Texas encouraged CHRISTUS to aim higher. Training at the Southeast Texas Outpatient Pavilion in Beaumont has  already reached almost 250 people.

These are people who see and treat injured people. This training will help them identify kids who may have been injured or abused during trafficking. It could be a true life-saver for some children.

The system reached out to local media to help spread the story. Call St. Elizabeth's at 409-892-7171 to schedule training. If you suspect a child is being trafficked, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-3737-7888.