For the past couple of years, I’ve been searching for clear guidance on how I can stay involved in the fight against human trafficking. When I retired early from law enforcement to join IJM, I never imagined I’d be back in Michigan a year later, working as a private investigator.

The relationships and friendships I built at IJM have opened several doors for me to continue anti-trafficking work through multiple non-profits. Some of these opportunities are investigative in nature and involve providing leads to law enforcement on active cases.

However, the one thing that’s held me back from diving headfirst into these opportunities is that—although they are investigative—they’re strictly online and lean more toward the intelligence support industry than “boots-on-the-ground” investigative work.

Over the past two years, I’ve greatly expanded my skill set in online investigations and have had success incorporating them into my cases. Still, I love the kind of work that gets me out in the field—talking to people, verifying facts, searching for evidence, and putting together a complete case.

Until recently, I hadn’t found that kind of opportunity in anti-human trafficking work as a PI. That changed earlier this month when I attended the mid-winter NALI Conference in Florida. NALI—the National Association of Legal Investigators—brought together some of the best legal investigators from across the country.

One of the speakers, an attorney from Georgia, specializes in representing trafficking survivors in civil lawsuits. These lawsuits are based on 18 USC §1595, which provides a civil remedy for trafficking survivors. This law allows victims of trafficking to file a lawsuit for damages against any person or company that “knowingly benefited from participating in a venture that violated the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and knew or should have known that the venture was in violation.”

The attorney wasn’t on stage alone. Sitting beside him was his investigator—because in civil litigation, the plaintiff is not the government. In criminal law, law enforcement investigates on behalf of the state, but in civil cases, survivors must prove their own claims and present evidence to the court. That’s where investigators play a crucial role.

Investigators on these cases become part of the legal team representing the survivor, and their work can make all the difference in achieving a settlement or judgment that provides life-changing compensation.

This concept has me energized. It has me looking for attorneys who take on these cases so that I can partner with them. It also has me wondering if this might be one of the reasons God has guided my journey over the past few years—leading me to this exact intersection of purpose and profession.