In a place like Eagle, where community feels tight-knit and safe, it’s easy to believe human trafficking is something that happens somewhere else—but according to Eagle resident Ruth, that assumption is exactly what allows it to persist. Through her work with Idaho COBS, she is helping bring awareness to a reality that is far closer—and far more complex—than most people realize. “It’s not what you think it is,” she says. “It’s not like the movies or dramatic kidnappings. It’s happening right in front of you.”
What makes Idaho’s situation especially difficult to grasp is that more than 80% of trafficking cases are familial, meaning the exploitation is happening within homes or through trusted relationships. “We’re talking about grooming from a young age,” Ruth explains, “where children are conditioned to believe this is normal.” The narratives people are familiar with—abductions, strangers, or international trafficking—do exist, but they represent a much smaller percentage of what is actually happening. “People don’t call it trafficking,” she says. “They call it a family issue, or they don’t call it anything at all,” and that silence is where the damage deepens.
The organization behind this work was founded by Paula Barthelmess, a clinical trauma therapist who began noticing a troubling pattern among the women she was treating—many were survivors of trafficking with no dedicated support system in Idaho. What started as a small, volunteer-driven effort has grown into a statewide resource offering safe housing, therapy, and long-term recovery support. Paula’s background in trauma therapy continues to shape the organization’s approach, emphasizing both deep healing and long-term stability for survivors who often carry years of compounded trauma.
Today, one of the most alarming trends Idaho COBS is seeing is the rise of sextortion and peer-driven exploitation, particularly among adolescents. What begins as a photo or video—something many young people dismiss as harmless—can quickly turn into manipulation and control. “Kids will say, ‘It’s not sex, it’s just a picture,’” Ruth says, “but that’s how grooming starts.” As boundaries erode, behaviors escalate, and exploitation becomes normalized, sometimes even among peers, with instances of trading sexual acts for things as trivial as vapes or gaming tokens. “They lose their sense of self-worth,” she explains, “and once that’s gone, they become far more vulnerable.”
What’s most unsettling is how often the warning signs are visible but misunderstood—sudden access to money or expensive gifts, vague relationships with older “friends” or “family,” abrupt changes in behavior, or a child who seems withdrawn and disconnected. “We have to start trusting that instinct,” Ruth says. “That moment where something doesn’t feel right.” She recalls stories of survivors who, as children, sat quietly in classrooms, dismissed as troubled or difficult, when in reality they were living in situations of ongoing exploitation. “Inside, they were hoping someone would notice and ask,” she says, “but no one did because they didn’t know what they were looking at.”
As Idaho COBS continues to expand, the urgency is growing alongside it. The organization has seen a significant increase in demand, a reflection not of progress, but of a problem surfacing faster than it can be contained. “We doubled our services last year,” Ruth shares, “and that means we’re already behind.” Their work now extends beyond recovery into prevention, partnering with schools, churches, and businesses to educate communities on what trafficking actually looks like—and how to recognize it before it escalates.
Idaho COBS is actively inviting churches, schools, and local businesses to bring this conversation into their spaces, offering trainings and real-world education designed to equip communities with the tools to recognize and respond to trafficking. They also provide confidential drop-in locations where individuals who are being trafficked or feel at risk can safely seek help, ask questions, and begin the process of getting out. “We need everyone at the table,” Ruth says. “Awareness is where it starts—but action is what changes lives.”
COBS Education
June 5th | 6:30–9 pm at Painting with a Twist, painting with a purpose.
Benefits supporting Idaho COBS
June 20th | 9am -1pm at Eagle Saturday Market Education and Awareness Booth
June 26th | 5pm-8pm at Eagle Family Fun Night Kid’s Craft Booth
Visit IdahoCobs.org and schedule an educational session for your business or organization to spread awareness.
