Our Story

One Encounter Changed Everything:

Olive Charitable Organization began with a young woman, a police officer, and the realization that sometimes the person who needs help most is the person we fail to recognize.

Before becoming Chief of Police, Dan Foss was a patrol officer with the Madera Police Department. During that time, he had several encounters with a young woman who appeared to be involved in prostitution. He arrested her for minor offenses, and when she eventually disappeared from the area, he had no reason at the time to believe those encounters were anything more than routine police contacts.

Then her family called.

Her mother and sister had tracked down the police reports from her previous arrests and found Dan’s contact information. They told him something he had not understood during his encounters with her:

She wasn’t simply engaging in prostitution. She was being trafficked.

Dan told the family he would make some calls and try to find her.

When he located her, it was too late.

She had been found deceased three days earlier in Pahrump, Nevada.

There Had to Be a Better Response:

The experience stayed with Dan.

He had become a police officer because he wanted to help people, yet he couldn’t escape the feeling that he had not understood what was happening to this young woman when she was standing right in front of him.

If he hadn’t recognized the signs, how many other officers might not recognize them either?

His first response was education.

Dan began working to help law enforcement better understand the realities of human sex trafficking and recognize that someone who appears to be engaged in prostitution or committing minor crimes may actually be experiencing exploitation.

But education raised another question:

Once you recognize someone is being trafficked, where do you take them for help?

Recognizing the Problem Was Only the Beginning:

Dan began contacting agencies and trying to understand the systems and resources available to individuals experiencing human trafficking.

What he discovered was frustrating.

Even as a badged law enforcement officer, navigating the different agencies, services, requirements, and systems necessary to connect someone with meaningful help was difficult.

If navigating those systems was challenging for a police officer, imagine how overwhelming they could be for someone trying to escape exploitation.

Dan realized that identifying human trafficking wasn’t enough.

There needed to be somewhere to turn next.

The Beginning of Olive:

Determined to create a better response, Dan eventually connected with local social work interns from Fresno State University. Those early conversations and relationships began laying the foundation for what would eventually become Olive Charitable Organization.

OLIVE—Overcoming Limitations through Intervention, Value, and Empowerment—grew from the belief that individuals experiencing exploitation need more than to be identified. They need knowledgeable advocates, coordinated services, practical resources, safe places, and people willing to walk alongside them as they rebuild their lives.

What began as one officer’s determination to better understand human trafficking gradually became a community response.

A Safe Place in Madera County:

In 2021, Olive opened the only safe house dedicated to individuals impacted by sex trafficking in Madera County.

It represented an important milestone in the vision that began years earlier: when someone experiencing trafficking is identified in our community, there should be somewhere safe for them to go and people prepared to help them navigate what comes next.

The safe house became one part of a much larger mission.

From One Encounter to a Community Resource:

Today, Olive has grown into a local hub for human trafficking education, prevention, advocacy, and supportive services.

The work that began with Dan’s desire to educate fellow law enforcement officers has expanded to reach youth, parents, educators, professionals, organizations, and community members.

At the same time, Olive continues to provide specialized support for individuals impacted by human sex trafficking through case management, advocacy, safety planning, housing, referrals, and connections to resources.

The lesson that began Olive’s story continues to shape our work today:

We have to recognize exploitation.
We have to know how to respond.
And when someone is ready for help, there must be somewhere to turn.

PREVENT. INTERVENE. EMPOWER.

One young woman’s story changed the way one officer understood human trafficking.

Her story helped inspire a response that continues today—one committed to making sure our community is better equipped to recognize exploitation, respond with understanding, and provide meaningful support to those seeking a path forward.