'Unsilenced': From Victims to Voices — Survivors Transform Trauma into Triumph

It can happen anytime, anywhere.

A neighbor, a friend, and even a relative could become a victim of human trafficking or domestic violence.

For Robin Bolz and Teri Pearce, their stories of survival have empowered the pair to raise awareness in their community.

News Channel 3 sat down with Bolz and Pearce to hear their stories:

Becoming unsilent: the story of Robin Bolz

According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, 254 cases of human trafficking were identified in Michigan in 2023.

However, human trafficking cases oftentimes go unreported, according to Emmett Township Det. Sgt. Richard Mackey.

Mackey is part of a joint task force in Calhoun County that tracks down human traffickers at truck stops and motels. In his 13 years in law enforcement, Mackey has investigated just four cases of human trafficking.

"A lot of it is website based, and they're disguised under escort services," Mackey said. "[It's] The guy next door many times that you would never suspect."

Most often, people are trafficked not by a stranger, but by someone they trust.

For Robin Bolz, that scenario happened to her at the age of 14 after she was admitted to a local hospital for a severe illness. A medical professional meant to help with her pneumonia became a predator.

The abuse was also happening at home, according to Bolz, who showed her childhood apartment in Battle Creek where she once lived with her mother and her mother's boyfriend.

"I would get locked out of the apartment. I do believe my mom was also a victim of trafficking of some sort," Bolz said.

• Related: Human trafficking survivor teams up with West Michigan police to raise awareness

At another location, Bolz recalled her mother's boyfriend abducted her and forced her to live in a small, locked room.

"He would often make me sleep in the bathtub. He would urinate on me. I did do special favors to get privileges, and get my basic needs met," Bolz said.

Battle Creek Police records show Bolz was reported as a runaway dozens of times. When officers showed up, however, Bolz was told to simply go home.

"They looked at me as a troubled teen, instead of a teen in trouble," Bolz said.

One night after she woke up from being beaten unconscious, Bolz had enough.

"I told my abductor, 'I'm leaving,' and he said, 'I'll kill you if you do.' And I said, 'you're going to kill me anyways. It doesn't matter.' And bloody and brazen I walked out of that door," Bolz said.

Three decades later, Bolz thought the trauma of her past was over. She went to a church service in 2023 and ran into the healthcare provider who she said trafficked her as a child. He wanted to reconnect.

Days after running into her former healthcare provider, Bolz filed a report with Battle Creek Police, afraid for the safety of the children who attended that church.

According to Bolz, she believes there were other victims, adding her testimony of childhood trauma coincided with the stack of police reports filed by her mother in the late 1990’s.

"So they pulled it out and they laid my life out in front of me in black and white, and he knew at that moment that I was telling the truth," Bolz said.

The detective called the retired healthcare provider that Bolz accused of trafficking her.

In that recorded conversation, he admitted to police that Bolz had visited his home when she was a minor:

• Officer: "But at no time there was oral sex or anything like that that happened?"
• Alleged Trafficker: "Not that I remember, no."

Two days later, police documents show the man was found dead, and his death was ruled a suicide.

"We've got to help others": Teri Pearce and S.A.F.E. Place

In 1990, the gruesome murder of Battle Creek resident Debbie Frost made headlines.

According to police, Frost was shot to death at home by her ex-boyfriend in front of her 6-year-old daughter.

Frost's childhood friend Teri Pearce told News Channel 3 more than three decades later, it's excruciating to talk about.

"He chased her and shot her as she was running down the stairs, and she lied dead at the end of the stairs," Pearce said.

Pearce saved the articles, and said it was the loss of her friend that gave her the strength to leave her own abusive relationship.

"I needed to get out, and for my children and for myself. I knew that could have been me, and that scared me more than anything," Pearce said.

• Related: Why Calhoun County ranks second in the state for reports of domestic violence per capita

Today, Pearce is helping other survivors of domestic violence find a secure place to sleep, partnering with S.A.F.E. Place to coordinate overflow rooms at a local hotel when the shelter is full.

"Sometimes, it's been a very long time since they've just had a good place to rest their heads and feel safe and sleep well," Pearce said. "We can't look away. You know, we got to help others."

The hotel helps clients from S.A.F.E. Place a couple times a week, but S.A.F.E. Place's CEO Ellen Lassiter Collier expects that number to increase.

"Some of the biggest trends we've seen even over the last 18 months are increased levels of physical violence," Lassiter Collier said.

According to Lassiter Collier, the #1 cause of domestic violence is money - meaning a tough economy is linked to an increase in violence.

"So we had six domestic violence homicides in 2024 in Calhoun County, and that was the most that we've ever had. The year before was one," Lassiter Collier said.

Lassiter Collier said some women who escape have no money, and no place to go.

"And what we also estimate, is that only 25% of domestic violence incidents are even being reported to law enforcement," Lassiter Collier said.

Nearly five nights a week, the 56 beds at S.A.F.E. Place are full. Half are taken by children.

The average length of stay for a survivor is seven weeks, but with the threat of federal budget cuts, the financial future of the domestic violence shelter is uncertain.

"I think there very well could be a correlation that we see over the next three to five years as a result of federal budget cuts to supportive services, and what that means for families and increased rates of violence," Lassiter Collier said.

Through a $1 million grant from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, S.A.F.E. Place will be breaking ground on six new apartments, making it the largest domestic violence and sex trafficking shelter in the state.

As for Pearce, she'll continue to support S.A.F.E. Place in memory of her friend Debbie Frost.

Exploitation to empowerment: Bolz and The Joseph Project

Bolz considers herself one of the lucky ones.

She remembers being forced to commit crimes, including shoplifting and prostitution, but was never caught.

"I was told to do it. I had to do it. You know, I didn't have a choice," Bolz said.

For human trafficking survivors who do have a criminal record, that's where Nate Knapper and The Joseph Project come in.

The Michigan-based non-profit has helped nearly 600 survivors, with what Knapper calls a "legal first responders network" that expands to 32 states and the District of Columbia.

• Related: The Joseph Project connects human trafficking survivors to free legal assistance

"When you have a person who's being forced, defrauded or coerced into a certain activity, it's, for example, common for them to walk away with a criminal record as a result of those activities. And so, you know, part of closing the justice gap, as we say, is to deliver criminal record relief to those people by way of the expungement process," Knapper said.

According to Knapper, who is also a federal law enforcement officer, 90% of survivors have a need for legal assistance. Many also struggle to find employment, education and housing because of their criminal record.

"The last figure set that I saw, I believe was from 2023, and I think that it said that there was about 500 or so victims that were identified in that year in Michigan alone," Knapper said, adding that number may be underreported.

According to Knapper, vulnerability leads to victimization, and it can happen in any community.

"I'm talking about things like poverty, broken homes, drug use, and I would even add a fourth one to that, which is the need for love and affection and acceptance," Knapper said.

Bolz and other survivors testified in Lansing in November 2024 for three senate bills designed to support law enforcement officers and attorneys, as they make their case against traffickers.

"There is no reason why you could not establish a national legal network, pro bono network, that is capable of extending pro bono legal aid to every identifiable human trafficking survivor. That's the end goal of The Joseph Project," Knapper said.

Knapper told News Channel 3 The Joseph Project's name is based on the biblical narrative.

"When we think of Joseph, we think of a human trafficking survivor who transitioned from exploitation to empowerment. The question is, will you keep faith and will you persevere long enough to see God bring good out of the dark things that you've been through?" Knapper asked.

Even with Bolz's darkest days now behind her, she said every moment she chooses recovery, and her faith and family are her foundation. However, her work is never finished.

"I had to do something with that energy. So we launched Unsilenced, and I became un-silent," Bolz said.

At a spot along Linear Trail in Battle Creek, Bolz told News Channel 3 that's where she was forced to exchange sexual favors for food decades ago.

Standing there, Bolz told News Channel 3 "I wouldn't be here doing what I do without God."

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence or sex trafficking, you can call the S.A.F.E. Place crisis line at (269) 965-SAFE.

Survivors of human trafficking are also encouraged to call the 24/7 confidential hotline at 1-888-373-7888.