For nearly two decades, Helen has worked at the front lines of anti-trafficking in Asia. She’s focused her skills, as a trauma therapist and mental health specialist, in Chiang Mai, Thailand, which she describes as a ‘bottleneck’ for Asia’s people trafficking. 

Many of the people Helen supports come from remote villages in northern Thailand where poverty, limited education, substance abuse, poor access to healthcare and mental health issues create a perfect storm of vulnerability. 

Sex tourism draws huge numbers of people to Chiang Mai and many vulnerable people end up exploited into this industry. But it’s not just sexual exploitation. Chiang Mai is close to Thailand’s border with Myanmar, where a huge civil war rages – displacing many people. Families are fleeing across the border into Thailand. A lot of young girls and boys, who have been separated from their families – or whose parents cannot work – are being recruited into exploitation. 

Young girls are being sexually exploited and young boys are forced into hazardous labour, including construction work. The urgent need for protective interventions, safe shelter and trauma-informed support services continues to escalate.

This is where Helen and her survivor-led team at Rise Foundation Asia step in; working at the intersection of protection, recovery and long-term restoration.

Our first question is, “are you safe?” 

Helen and her team provide direct support and advocacy for people who have experienced exploitation, working with government agencies, law enforcement and multidisciplinary teams.

Most of the foundation’s team are women who have gone through their programme. Helen explains, “We have professionals, and survivors who are learning to be professionals in their field [nurses, social workers and counsellors], working alongside each other.”

At their drop-in centre, Baan Romyen – located in Chiang Mai’s entertainment district – social workers and caseworkers assess each new arrival. “Question number one is whether they are safe. Do they have somewhere to stay?” says Helen. “Secondly, we ask: ‘Have you eaten?’”

When parents arrive, the team checks whether their children are in school. Many of the young people they see – some as young as 12 – have been recruited into the sex industry. “We make sure that we take them out and put them in school,” Helen says. “Currently we support around 40 children in school and 15 young women in college.”

Other organisations often refer people to the Rise Foundation Asia because of their robust trauma and health care programme. 

Mind, body and soul – healing the whole person

Helen and her team have created a healing-centred environment – where trauma-recovery and skill-building go hand in hand. “It’s not a one-stop, come for a year and you’re healed. Healing is linear,” Helen explains. 

Every single person that walks into the drop-in centre is sent to the hospital for a medical check up. Some of them have never received that. Ever. The centre provides mental health assessments and ongoing psychosocial support through its team of onsite counsellors

An outreach team is active daily, with dedicated evening outreach each week. Together with a nursing team, they bring essential sexual health care directly into the spaces where women and children are most vulnerable – whether in remote villages or urban centres. In addition to this ongoing outreach, they run full sexual health clinics several times a year to ensure access to critical care.

Where is God in Chiang Mai? 

Helen’s faith quietly informs her values and approach, shaping a commitment to dignity, justice and compassion in her work. “There is extensive research that shows spirituality is an important part of the human psyche. How spirituality works out is different for different people,” she says.

“We do not pressure anyone into a certain belief system. We work with women and children who have come out of places where they didn’t have choices. Exploitation was part of their life.”  

“A lot of the women we work with want to know more about Christianity because they see the long-lasting effect of our faith impacting a lot of lives. We do not waver from our belief system.”

Is exploitation a never-ending problem? 

There is a constant stream of displaced, vulnerable people arriving in Chiang Mai. For every 10 people helped there are 20 more who will end up exploited and abused. How does Helen keep going? 

Helen starts with the immediate needs. “There are women and children who are in front of us. Our job is to provide for their needs. We never say no to anyone. We either redirect them to other organisations or if there’s a gap we step in.”

Then there’s the bigger picture of how trafficking and gender based violence is growing so much. 

“A couple of years ago, I got very frustrated. There’s a metaphor used in the anti-trafficking and humanitarian field where we are just pulling people out at the bottom of the river and there’s not enough work done to stop nature. So prevention became a huge part of what we do.” 

Rise Foundation Asia gets children into school. “A lot of the young girls don’t get to go into secondary education simply because they can’t afford it. And if a family can’t afford it, then the boys are the ones who get to go.” 

Substance abuse is a huge problem too. 

“A lot of gender based violence and sexual exploitation comes from childhood abuse,” shares Helen. “Women who experience abuse in childhood may later enter exploitative situations believing it to be normal, as early trauma can condition the brain to accept harm as familiar or expected.” 

How do you change that? “We go back to the family system,” says Helen. “We go to the villages and see where the substance abuse problem starts.

“We’re in the process of purchasing land and raising funds to build a post-rehab centre that will serve the long-term needs of the community.” The plan: stop substance abuse, provide health care and then employment. “We want to provide an alternative form of employment before they get into sex work.”

Alongside this practical help, Rise Foundation Asia works in advocacy and policy changing.

Helen explains, “We work closely with local and foreign governments. We’re doing cross-border and cross-sector work. Anti-trafficking organisations shouldn’t just work among themselves. It’s a humanitarian issue because it involves poverty, education, business, economic freedom and has a spiritual factor as well. 

Churches have a part to play in combating trafficking 

So how can churches help?

“Churches have the capacity and the people to lend their hands.” Says Helen: “Whether you have doctors in your seats, lawyers or educators, there are many ways that the church can contribute to this humanitarian issue and keep people safe, raising awareness and providing preventive measures.”

Helen reminds us, “the social media of churches alone is amazing. Even if once a week or month you put some of this information out, you’re reaching hundreds and thousands just from your community alone. You don’t have to leave the church and be in the mission field. 

“We all need to find the gaps and fill them.” 

Start now

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