Social work graduate helps sexual violence, trafficking survivors
As a social worker, Hannah Collins works in a police department but doesn’t have a gun or wear a badge.
Hannah Collins ’22 (MSW) is the first human trafficking and sexual assault case manager in an initiative at the Chesterfield County Police Department in Chesterfield, Virginia. In her role, she uses her social work training to help detectives identify and recover sexual violence and human trafficking survivors and refer them to the resources they need to stay safe.
“One of the first things we learn in social work is that it’s all about resources,” Collins says. “Our officers have extensive training in human trafficking and know what they’re looking for and how to talk to people. But they don’t always have the ability or the time to continue to follow up and make community connections. In this role, I can do that.”
Collins is a member of a cohort of case managers the police department hired this year to specialize with various at-risk populations, bringing a collaborative community response perspective into policing and community work.
“They overlap a lot,” she said. “I understand why people can be resistant to that, but I do think it’s a great opportunity for those of us with behavioral science or social work backgrounds to provide a different perspective on how we not only talk to victims, but also talk to offenders — to set up resources and communicate with those who may be offending or victimized who, in the future, have the potential to become offenders. The idea is for us to step in and provide those supports and resources.”
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When Collins attends operations with law enforcement as they serve potentially exploited individuals, it can be comforting for those individuals to know she’s not a police officer. She doesn’t have a gun or wear a badge.
“I have been absolutely blessed with an amazing team that recognizes my potential and the difference I bring to the table,” Collins said. “This has been a good experience, to be an alternate person in the process. I tell them I’m a social worker and that we can talk. I can walk them through the process. I can follow up to talk about what happened or how to move forward or how I can help them get established with whatever they need.”
Sometimes that’s mental or behavioral health care; sometimes it’s the material goods they might need if they need to relocate or care for children.
This population is the reason why Collins decided to become a social worker. When she was a child, her family lived in Thailand for a year. She became aware of the exploitation there. As a teenager, she had the opportunity to go back and work in a refugee camp and was able to develop a deeper understanding of the injustices she’d seen.
“That’s when I started learning about exploitation, both in the labor area as well as sexual exploitation, and I dove into that a little bit,” she said. “I thought social work was the best route to learn more, because it is such a hands-on field.”
She obtained bachelor’s degrees in both psychology and social work at Campbell University. She knew the UNC School of Social Work was the best place to continue her education.
“It is a very rigorous and knowledge-heavy and excellence-driven school, but at the same time, it has a huge heart for service,” Collins said. “What are we doing this all for? We’re not just soaking in knowledge and talking and having conversations. We’re actually in the field putting what we learn into practice.”
