Blog: MNPD Sergeant explains what happens on monthly street outreach

Every month, Hope for Justice joins Metropolitan Nashville Police Department for street outreach, engaging with those who are vulnerable, unhoused, using drugs, and often at risk of human trafficking or being controlled by traffickers. 

And every time we canvas the East Precinct, we come face to face with potential victims of human trafficking. 

We interviewed Sergeant Mandi Maska-Allen about this joint work, the indicators we look for, and the impact it has had on people’s lives. 

Sgt Maska-Allen, the East Precinct’s Community Coordinator, said: “We encounter people every time we canvas with Hope for Justice. In the week before this conversation, we encountered two women in the encampments that Hope for Justice is now working with. I love your organization – it’s very very important to me – and I will continue to work with Hope for Justice. If I can bring anything of that into my community to save someone or help them, I will do. I just want to bring the issue of human trafficking to light and make it known that there is help for people.” 

Our outreach work with Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) and other non-profits, including the Salvation Army, started in December 2024, when we were invited to join winter patrols in Central Precinct. Then, when Sergeant Maska-Allen moved from Central to East Precinct in summer 2025, she invited us to continue partnering with her. 

The work continues to have a huge impact. During one week in February this year, we identified two female survivors of human trafficking. One of the women was referred to our Advocacy and Outreach Specialist, Mary Hill, who secured her a place in a domestic violence shelter. The other woman worked alongside our Tennessee Program Lead, Olivia Messina, who helped her find temporary housing so that she wasn’t living on the streets, to find employment and to obtain a birth certificate. 

We have connected with more than 230 community members in the East Precinct through these outreach efforts since August 2025. We have also identified six survivors of human trafficking. 

Olivia Messina, our Tennessee Program Lead, said: “This was all because of outreach efforts in East Nashville. This work is so important.” 

Hope for Justice’s Elaine Jones, our Chief Operating Officer, recently joined Sgt Maska-Allen on street outreach while visiting our programs in the U.S. She said: “Mandi and her team were deeply attuned to the community they serve. There was both kindness and firmness – they were there to ensure everyone was safe. If that’s the only interaction someone has in two weeks, then as a human being we all need that kindness, whatever our situation.” 

A: I had always wanted to be a police officer. I witnessed a significant incident when I was younger and saw these officers save some people from a car, so I’ve always idolized them and given them huge respect. 

I was going into the police force and then found out I was pregnant with my first child (I’m a mom to three daughters). I love being a mom, so I raised my girls and they were playing soccer, but two of them had a severe accident to their knees in high school. They were quite down and I told them not to give up on their dreams. So, then they asked me what my dreams were. My dream was always to be in law enforcement, and they said, ‘why don’t you’? I said I was 42. But they said, ‘you’re telling us not to give up on our dreams, you shouldn’t give up on yours’. I was a transportation manager for some schools (a school bus manager with a team under me). I loved it but I didn’t feel wholly fulfilled. So immediately after that conversation with my daughters, I went on the MNPD website, filled out an application, and a couple of days later I started the hire process. 

I was a gymnast for most of my life, so I had the physical side down but the idea of going back into school/academy was scary. I was the oldest in the academy class at the time. I was Mama Mandi, Mama Maska. I graduated and became an officer on patrol, learning the basics. I loved talking to people and they put me on the quality of life outreach team who mainly worked with the unhoused. That was where I found my true passion. I had empathy for those who were unhoused and had poor mental health or were in need, and I absolutely loved it. I have a very soft place in my heart for individuals in need; you never know what they’ve been through.

I then became Crime Prevention Officer (CPO), before being moved into precinct (first in Central, then Downtown Broadway, and now in East). That’s when I started working with Hope for Justice. 

A: Prior to working in law enforcement, I had heard about the issue of human trafficking through word of mouth and what I’d seen, but I really didn’t realise how much it impacted the everyday. Once I became a police officer, it really changed my perspective on the unhoused. We’d see the unhoused in the encampments in Central and the perpetrators would be holding them hostage, either with drugs, or through substance abuse. You could tell there were women who were scared, and I wanted to know why they felt like they couldn’t leave the trafficker who was controlling them, why they didn’t want to talk to us. And that is how I came to learn that human trafficking doesn’t just affect people who are brought in from other countries as you hear on the news. It isn’t just about people being brought here for a better life, it’s also happening to people here in the encampments; it’s just happening in a different way.” 

A: Initially as an officer, you are thinking that these red flags are domestic violence, but it is so much worse than that. 

As MNPD we have to follow the domestic violence protocol, which means prioritizing the safety of victims. We also have a legal duty to escalate human trafficking cases to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) who have the statutory authority to investigate trafficking cases, recover survivors and arrest traffickers. 

We have Hope for Justice there, and keep in mind when we think human trafficking might be happening. We step away as the police and let your team speak to potential victims so they’re comfortable. Hope for Justice helps us to recognize the similarities and differences between domestic violence cases and human trafficking cases. Your team help us to identify when victims might be working for someone, and they are scared to leave and their life is threatened or at stake. 

A: Most of the trafficking is drug or substance related. Perpetrators get someone hooked on a substance and then they will be able to make them follow their rules, feel like they’re taking care of them, demanding they do things, keeping them high, pretending to keep them safe. People don’t think of the unhoused having this issue but it’s pretty commonplace here in the United States. 

I have seen women who are very elusive and had very normal conversations with me, but then a day later, they can’t stand or talk because they are hooked and addicted. These women are scared; they know they can’t talk because it might put them in danger. It is like trying to break down the brick walls and build trust with them. A lot of them say they are fine and don’t need anything; they might say that 10 times over before they come up and say to either the police or the non-profits ‘I think I do need help.’ You want to be able to bring everyone to safety straight away but that is not usually how things work. It takes time. 

A: We look out for indicators – sometimes victims are very cautious when they talk, they’re timid. It’s about engagement with these individuals and building trust so we can help get them to safety. 

Many of the individuals we encounter do not talk to anyone. Sometimes the perpetrators come out and say ‘we are fine’. It is not until we build trust with these individuals, so they know we are not going to bring them more pain or get them in trouble with their perpetrator, that they start to open up and tell us they need help. 

It is also knowing our different roles going into those areas. MNPD always canvas an area before Hope for Justice goes up. Most times it is obvious if it is safe, sometimes not, but building that relationship and trust. I have had at least 15 canvasses with Hope for Justice, and hundreds with our officer homeless services and the Salvation Army. They always follow MNPD’s lead. They know when to come in and start speaking to the individuals who need assistance. 

We see a lot of drug use, a lot of women who are scantily dressed; it’s weighing up what is going on and knowing it may be trafficking. 

When we go into areas, we offer all kinds of services, including getting on housing lists, which we call coordinated entry. 

We give our details on a contact card. It could take months before they are willing to talk to us. 

Hope for Justice distribute contact details, resources, food handouts, and trafficking awareness information. 

Olivia Messina, Hope for Justice’s Tennessee Program Lead who accompanies MNPD on outreach, said: “Our partnership with MNPD has been pivotal in connecting with community members and providing essential resources. This is not only important for identifying survivors, but also preventing exploitation. If we can reach vulnerable individuals and get them connected to the resources they need before exploitation occurs, that is just as important.” 

A: We identified a woman alone behind a truck stop. Once we had made contact with her, Hope for Justice knew it was safe to go and speak to her. We helped identify the individual, we canvassed the area, and then Hope for Justice went back there a few times to speak to the woman. 

Often when you are serving, if a perpetrator comes up they might ask for extra food trays. We say ‘yes, but next time I would like to meet the people you’re giving them to.’ And usually after a few times the women will come up with the perpetrator, or I will find out where they are staying. One of my day-to-day roles is to identify high risk places and hotspots. We know to check abandoned homes, for instance. Sometimes perpetrators leave and move location, but law enforcement usually have their ID, such as their first name. Davidson County Police Department (DCPD) is very large with several precincts, so our teams share information. 

Olivia Messina, Tennessee Program Lead, said: “For us, the main aim of this work is to identify survivors of human trafficking within the unhoused community. Hope for Justice staff talk to everyone because we don’t know who might be a survivor. We also work to build relationship with the community in general. We act as a supportive presence. Sometimes individuals from other organizations will signpost people to us.” 

A: One of the difficulties is that people sometimes disappear. That might be because they don’t want to engage, or because they are under the influence of drugs, or because they are being controlled by a trafficker. 

It’s a priority to keep people safe, whether trafficking victims or victims of another crime. We try to get people and children to safety. It has taken a lot of time, but we have an amazing team of people, and we work together to help trafficked individuals. 

A: After our outreach with Hope for Justice I can go home with a smile on our face, knowing we have done our best to give these individuals resources and let them know they are not alone, and that there are people who are there 24/7 who can help them – people they can trust.