Human trafficking doesn’t always look the way people expect. It doesn’t always involve dramatic rescues or high-profile arrests. Sometimes it looks like a man working long hours in a Park City hotel.
Jose came to the United States [legally] from the Philippines with hope for a better future. Instead, he found himself trapped in a labor trafficking situation within Park City’s hospitality industry, one of the sectors most heavily associated with labor trafficking nationally. Park City’s booming tourism economy drives significant demand for hospitality and restaurant workers, and behind the region’s thriving hotels and resorts, vulnerable workers like Jose are being exploited with few avenues for help.
Utah ranked 11th among states with the highest number of per capita human trafficking victims between 2019 and 2023. Last year, AAU served over 35 trafficking survivors from Summit County alone. And yet this crisis remains largely invisible to the community that surrounds it.
Jose began working with AAU’s Human Trafficking Support team in April 2026. With a pregnant wife, a young child, and wages that couldn’t stretch far enough, the family was in a precarious situation. AAU was able to step in immediately by providing rental assistance to keep the family housed, connecting them to critical resources in Park City, and helping them enroll in Medicaid so the family could access healthcare, including care for the new baby.
Since 2014, AAU and Peace House, a Park City nonprofit dedicated to ending interpersonal violence and empowering survivors to heal and thrive, have maintained a collaborative relationship built on cross-referrals, resource sharing, and training opportunities. We ensure that survivors of human trafficking in Wasatch and Summit counties can access the comprehensive services they need. AAU is also a member of the Summit County IPV/SA Response Alliance, which facilitates ongoing collaboration with local law enforcement around safety protocols for survivors. Without this network, survivors like Jose would have nowhere to turn.
Since connecting with AAU, Jose has exited his trafficking situation and is now working at a different job. The comprehensive support he received gave his family the breathing room they needed to stabilize. Today, beyond the occasional food and baby formula assistance, Jose is providing for his family and working toward his own career goals.
Jose’s name has been changed to protect his privacy and confidentiality.
Stories like Jose’s are why AAU’s Human Trafficking Support work in Summit County must continue and grow. But federal resources for trafficking victim services are increasingly unstable, and the need continues to outpace capacity.
AAU is the only organization in Utah focused specifically on labor trafficking victims. The work we do, case management, housing assistance, benefits navigation, and long-term recovery support, is only possible because of community investment.
Support AAU’s Human Trafficking Support programs through Live PC Give PC:
https://www.livepcgivepc.org/organization/aau-slc
Your gift directly sustains the comprehensive, trauma-informed services that help survivors like Jose move from exploitation to stability and from stability to thriving.
