Combating Sex Trafficking Through Temporary Refuge

“Girls are dying on the Eastside of Detroit and no one is reporting on it.”

19459 Mitchell St, Detroit MI, 48234. Do yourself a favor and type that location into GPS, turn left on Mitchell and go down probably 900 ft until you reach the house on the corner of your righthand side. There are metal bars solidified to the door and windows of the home. the grass has this weird beauty of raw crunchy canola oil in small patches while the dandelions reign supreme through the sludge of it all. There is no giant fancy sign outside that reads a darn thing. It was just a house, once abandoned, left to rot, bordered up and waiting for demolishing.

In Michigan, ranked number two in the country for human trafficking according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, Detroit poses a particular problem. 19459 Mitchell St. Has become Elli’s House, where young women who are homeless, runaways or survivors of trafficking, can seek temporary refuge from off the streets with family reunification as their primary goal.

Deb Ellinger, founder and former police officer, who investigated sex crimes for Shelby and Macomb Township, began journaling about the things she would encounter during her journeys to Detroit and decided she wanted to do something about it.

“I would go through neighborhoods and stare at houses.” she said. “When I saw someone homeless, I would feed them and asked if I could pray with them.”

The name Elli means Gods light. The organization is affiliated with the Michigan District Lutheran church Missouri Synod. Once you get pass the bars on the door that scream ‘stay out’ you enter a home once plague with debris and rubbish, you will see a sign place above the fireplace that reads.

“There in the presence of the lord your God. You and your family shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the lord, your God has blessed you.” Deut. 12:7

 Last year, over 40 Attorney Generals, 19 Senators and 600 Religious Leaders signed a petition to have Backpage shut down. Backpage has been the main source of child exploitation in the United States for years, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Experts within Trafficking would describe this problem as modern-day slavery.

“150,000 Children who were once visible on street corners, disappear everyday and can be found on Backpage.” Netflix Movie on trafficking.

Doing Elli’s House, Street Outreach initiative on Harper and Dickerson, the levels of crime are known to be high for drugs and sex trafficking. This is where Ellinger can be seen handing out Women Hygiene Kits full of sanitary napkins, toothbrush, soap and hair brushes. After building trust with the trafficked women she prays for, Ellinger has also been able to secure a relationship with their pimps. 

“We began creating Men Hygiene Kits for the pimps and asking if they would like anything to eat,” she said. “I would hand out my card with my number on it, just in case they needed anything.”

Carol and Mike were left a house on Detroit Eastside after their cousin passed away. They decided to donate the home to Ellinger to serve her mission of rehabilitation for victims who have been trafficked. Four women who had been ministered by Ellinger lost their lives this year, they were either murdered, hit by a car or overdose on illegal drugs.

“Women are dying on the Eastside of Detroit and no one is talking about it.”

A survey conducted by the University of Pennsylvania and Loyola University found that one in every five homeless youth have been a victim of trafficking. 21 percent of the 60 respondents were from Detroit said that they were trafficked for sex or labor.

“I am greatly disturbed that so many of the youth we serve in Detroit have been victims of trafficking,” said Gerald J. Piro, Covenant House Michigan Executive Director.

Around this time next year, the grass will be the color of an emerald, with not one dandelion in sight. The chip paint on the door will be rid of lead, the walls will be painted, and women will be in the direction of becoming greater version of who they once were. Elli’s House will be open to women whether rain, hail or snow. Just remember to turn left on Mitchell and go down 900 ft until you reach the house on the corner on of your righthand side.