This case also brought to our attention how much work is needed to be done in the human trafficking field. Mosaic staff realized that working with human trafficking survivors made perfect sense for our agency many survivors of human trafficking are foreign-born, making it more difficult for them to seek help because of challenges like language and cultural barriers. Nguyen!), who were fluent in Vietnamese and able to provide culturally competent, high-quality services to these frightened and traumatized factory workers.
We had staff members (including our founder, Dr. Of the approximately 270 trafficked, about 25 of them were brought to Dallas and were connected with Mosaic. In 2001, the Department of Labor shut down the garment factory and arrested Lee and his employees with many charges, including involuntary servitude and forced labor. The worker managed to slip a note about what was going on at the garment factory, and a civilian contacted authorities. He also took their passports and all their identification paperwork once workers arrived at the island, so escape seemed impossible.Īfter years of this, a worker was allowed to leave the compound to receive medical attention. Lee and his staff controlled everything in their lives, like what they could eat, how much they could eat, if they could communicate with their families, etc. Workers were frequently beaten and assaulted and were living in a compound on the factory property. Once they arrived on the remote island, everything changed. Workers were promised good wages that would allow them to support their families back home. This case started in the late 1990s, when a garment factory owner, Kil Soo Lee, in American Samoa was recruiting workers from Vietnam and China to work in the factory. Law enforcement specifically reached out to Mosaic to help with this case because of our multilingual staff. Because of this, in 2001, we were connected with labor trafficking survivors from Vietnam who were brought to Dallas. Mosaic was well known amongst law enforcement agencies and the community for our work with multicultural domestic violence survivors and refugees. That same year, Mosaic House opened its doors as the region’s first shelter designed to serve refugee and immigrant women and their children who are victims of family violence. In 2001, Mosaic expanded its services to victims of human trafficking and established the first anti-trafficking program in the state. In 1997, Mosaic established the Multicultural Family Violence Program. It was through these efforts to improve health that Mosaic recognized how limited services in North Texas are for foreign-born victims of violence, particularly for victims of family violence. Mosaic Family Services’ first program for refugees focused on helping them access medical and mental health care. Through our initial work in the fields of substance abuse, Mosaic broadened our services to include health, social and victim services to refugees and immigrants. At that time, EDCC provided drug education and drug counseling to youth and families in East and Southeast Dallas. Walter Nguyen, a former refugee from Vietnam, to assist struggling refugees and immigrants in the Dallas area and empower them to lead self-sufficient lives.
Mosaic Family Services was founded as East Dallas Counseling Center in 1993 by Dr.
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