Deanne Lawson sees the uptick in sex trafficking along Greenfield Avenue on Milwaukee’s south side.
Her organization, Inner Beauty, helps those who have been trafficked with meals, clothing and connections to social services. She and her staff hand out pamphlets detailing men who have abused sex workers in the area.
One description warns about a 30-year-old man who “will assault you at gunpoint, drives a truck.” Another told a story of a man who attacked transgender women and said one woman had to escape by stabbing him.
“You can never get ahead of it,” said Lawson, who founded Inner Beauty in 2012. “There’s a lot more individuals that are trafficked out there than what we think.”
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Inner Beauty helped roughly 200 people a year. Those numbers have risen to 300.
Among them was 31-year-old Hayley Linville.
On Sept. 16, Linville was seen walking in and out of traffic. Someone saw her and called the Milwaukee Police Department to conduct a welfare check. When the officer arrived, she was lying at the entrance of an alleyway. The police officer ran her over. She later died at the hospital.
The Waukesha Police Department is investigating her death. A 44-year-old officer with over 18 years of service was placed on administrative leave, per department policy.
Linville’s death happened about two blocks off Greenfield Avenue, where she spent much of her life. Those who live and work in the neighborhood say drug use, human trafficking and homelessness are persistent issues.
The alley on South 20th Street where a Milwaukee police officer drove over Hayley Linville while responding to a welfare check on her, pictured on Sept. 23 in Milwaukee. A police official said Linville was lying at the alley’s entrance when the police vehicle struck her.
Although a toxicology report at the time of her death has yet to be released, advocates like Lawson say Linville’s death and many others in the community could have been prevented if resources were better equipped to help people dealing with addiction.
“There’s no help available, little to none. Not even a Band-Aid,” Linville’s mother, Robin Burke, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Twenty-eight days (in a free recovery program) isn’t going to cover years of addiction.”
Linville’s family say they lost a loved one with a vibrant spirit, who aspired to raise her three children. Those on Milwaukee’s south side who knew her say she was always willing to help others.
“People were just drawn to her personality,” her mother said. “Everybody that knows her, loves her.”
A neighborhood needs resources, but options are slim
Pastor Marty Calderon can routinely be found on Milwaukee’s south side.
He leads prayer walks to bring spirituality and resources to those in need. An upcoming prayer walk was scheduled to take place on National Avenue.
However, in the wake of Linville’s death, a man being shot by police during a traffic stop and other recent acts of violence, the walk will now be held on Greenfield Avenue.
He wants to give the community a chance to gather and recover from what’s happened. He recognizes the gaps in resources for those in the area, particularly housing.
“They need to get out of their environment,” said Calderon, who is part of the violence intervention group the Milwaukee Promise Keepers.
Pastor Marty Calderon, who has long been involved in street ministries and helping people who are addicted, homeless or just out of prison, speaks to volunteers before a community prayer walk launches from Kosciuszko Park on Sept. 12 in Milwaukee.
And Linville did try that.
Burke said her daughter was in and out of treatment throughout her life. Within the last five years, she stayed with Burke in her North Carolina home in attempts to get clean and start fresh.
Those stays lasted only about a month. Then Linville − born and raised in Milwaukee − was drawn back to Wisconsin.
“She was clean,” said her mother. “All it took was one phone call from the wrong person.”
In Milwaukee, Inner Beauty’s Lawson worked with Linville many times over the years to keep her safe and away from the wrong people.
Lawson encouraged Linville to confront the man who trafficked her in federal court. Linville did. Her testimony helped sentence the man to 45 years in prison.
For those in the neighborhood dealing with addiction, homelessness or sex trafficking, resources exist. But wait lists are incredibly long and few programs address all issues at once, Lawson said.
“Sometimes they can go to the local free detox place,” she said. “The problem is they have nowhere to go after that.”
It can create a cycle that burns people out.
Lawson knew Linville well. She often delivered her meals or spent time with her at Inner Beauty’s center. She remembers Linville as a helpful woman who would frequently clean the space and offer help where she could.
News of her death shook community members and staff alike. She was known for “lighting up the room” with her personality, Lawson said.
Dustin Burke holds an image of Hayley Linville with his wife and Hayley’s mother, Robin Burke, on Sept. 24 in Milwaukee. A Milwaukee police officer drove over Linville while responding to a welfare check on her, killing her on Sept. 16.
A lifelong battle now fueling help for others
Burke said her daughter loved Milwaukee. The family lived on the city’s east side when she was born, but they later moved near Greenfield Avenue.
She was one of seven children. While growing up, Linville and her twin sister would often go to their aunt Kathy Tyson’s house in West Allis, to escape the rowdiness of having so many brothers and sisters.
“She was a really happy person,” Tyson said.
As Linville grew older and struggled with addiction, Tyson and her family always kept their door open to her.
Burke frequently tried to help Linville and her understanding of her daughter’s addiction shifted over time.
At one point, she believed Linville’s recovery simply required her to reach out for help. But as the years went on and the struggles continued, she began to understand how strained the resources are.
“It was a constant fight. So I just had to take a step back and love her where she was at,” Burke said.
Robin Burke, left, the mother of Hayley Linville, lays her head on her husband, Dustin Burke, on Sept. 24 in Milwaukee. A Milwaukee police officer drove over Linville while responding to a welfare check on her, killing her on Sept. 16.
She and her husband have moved to the Milwaukee area following Linville’s death.
Burke plans to help those in the community who struggle as their daughter did. The family will participate in Calderon’s prayer walk on Greenfield Avenue on Oct. 10 to support those groups and distribute resources.
“I couldn’t help her,” Burke said. “But if there’s another girl out there like her that I can help, I’m going to.”
Police’s role draws anger, questions
How Linville died remains troubling to many.
Those who live in the area say there are often police chases through the streets or officers driving recklessly.
Her family is outraged at how she died. They believe justice is owed.
“How does a police officer with all this training and experience in driving not avoid a whole body,” Burke said.
In a statement, the Milwaukee Police Department said it was committed to “building sustainable neighborhoods free of crime that are built on positive relationships.”
“The public’s safety is the Milwaukee Police Department’s number one priority,” the statement said.
In the week since she died, Linville’s issues with addiction and homelessness, have been focused on by some in social media posts. It angers her mother and others who knew her well.
“Just because somebody has an addiction, doesn’t mean she’s not human,” Inner Beauty’s Lawson said. “That doesn’t devalue her.”
On the night of Sept. 24, Linville’s family and community members returned to where she was killed to host a vigil in her memory.
Keila Rodriguez, a neighborhood friend of hers, was among them. She believed Linville’s death could have been avoided.
“If (police) would help these girls more, if they would get to know the neighborhood, these things could be prevented,” she said.
Keila Rodriguez, a friend of Hayley Linville, gazes at a candle after speaking during a vigil honoring Linville’s life on South 20th Street on Sept. 24 in Milwaukee. A Milwaukee police official said Linville was lying at an alley’s entrance when a Milwaukee police officer ran her over during a welfare check.
A crowd of about 40 met in the alley where Linville was hit. There they prayed together for her, lifted candles to the sky and played songs in her memory.
Burke has leaned on her faith in the days since her daughter died and during the vigil.
Linville was born on July 1. After her daughter’s death, Burke felt compelled to search for a Bible passage that aligned with Linville’s birthday. When she opened a Bible app on her phone, it was opened to the Book of Matthew.
What she read gave her peace.
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged,” read the verse from Matthew 7:1.
Linville’s family raising money for her funeral services through GoFundMe. As of Sept. 24, they have raised over $1,500.
David Clarey is a public safety reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at dclarey@gannett.com.
Alyssa N. Salcedo covers Layton Boulevard West for the Journal Sentinel’s Neighborhood Dispatch. Reach her at asalcedo@gannett.com. As part of the newsroom, all Alyssa’s work and coverage decisions are overseen solely by Journal Sentinel editors.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Hayley Linville’s life unexpectedly. Her friends and family seek justice