Resources for helping trafficking victims
If you are a victim of trafficking or want to help those who are, here are some resources that you can use:
Agape International Missions
Originally launched as a church planting ministry, the Roseville, California organization changed its mission to combating human trafficking in 2005. Its primary focus is Cambodia. www.agapewebsite.org
Covenant House
Based in New York City, this ministry has helped to rescue thousands of trafficking victims. In addition, it lobbies for laws that help to protect victims of sex-trade slavery. Its services include outreach, crisis care, continuum of care, and basic life skills training such as saving money, paying bills, cooking healthy meals and finding jobs. www.covenanthouse.org
Demand Abolition
Demand Abolition, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is focused on eradication by combating the demand for purchased sex. www.demandabolition.org
DEMANDForum
Also in Cambridge, this group is involved in initiatives in more than 1,050 U.S. communities designed to deter or apprehend men who buy sex. www.demandforum.net
Faith Alliance Against Slavery and Trafficking
This Christian alliance mobilizes organizations and communities through resource sharing, tools and collaboration. Located in Baltimore, its resources include a tool kit for churches. www.faastinternational.org
Hope for Justice
The Nashville-based Hope for Justice identifies and rescues victims, advocates on their behalf, and provides restorative care which rebuilds lives and trains frontline professionals to tackle slavery. www.hopeforjustice.org
International Justice Mission
Dedicated to the end of violence, Washington, D.C.-based IJM offers information on a variety of options for involvement including partnerships in prayer and the arts, for students and schools, and through volunteer and internship opportunities. www.ijm.org
National Educators to Stop Trafficking
Headquartered in Seattle, the organization works to generate curricula and other resources that help students understand the dangers of human trafficking and how to protect themselves from sexual exploitation, while also educating others about the issue. www.nesteducators.org
Not for Sale
The group was founded in 2001 after Bay Area resident Dave Batstone discovered that his favorite restaurant was involved in a human trafficking ring. The San Francisco-based organization assists at-risk youth by offering stability, safety, educational opportunities and jobs. www.notforsalecampaign.org
Slavery No More
The mission of Calabasas, California-based Slavery No More is to offer a variety of resources to the most effective organizations working to combat and abolish modern-day slavery and human trafficking, and to create awareness of the diversity of opportunities for meaningful personal engagement. The main emphasis is on working with non-governmental agencies, while also working with local and national law enforcement. www.slaverynomore.org
San Diego County resources:
Churches Against Trafficking
Churches Against Trafficking is a network of more than 50 North and East County churches that have committed to fight human trafficking by raising awareness, promoting organizations that are combating the crime, and offering encouragement and prayer. www.abolishhumantrafficking.com
FreeThem Road
The San Diego ministry, founded by Ginger Shaw, is a grassroots, non-profit organization that advocates for human trafficking awareness. It does so primarily by working to get National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline posters posted wherever possible, particularly in major transportation corridors where victims are most likely to see them. www.freethemroad.org
Generate Hope
The mission of the faith-based ministry is to serve San Diego’s sex trafficking survivors by offering a real way out. GenerateHope provides a long-term, comprehensive housing and recovery program to young women who have been sexually trafficked, providing them skills that enable them to reintegrate into society and walk powerfully into their future. The ministry needs just $20,000 to purchase the South County property that has been serving as their headquarters. www.generatehope.org
Hidden Treasures Outreach
Rock Church’s Hidden Treasures volunteers reach out to women and children who are being sex trafficked in San Diego County. Each of the outreach teams includes men and women who are specially trained in effective sex trade ministry. www.sdrock.com/ministries/trafficking/streetoutreach
Restore International
Founded in 2003 by Point Loma Nazarene University adjunct professor Bob Goff, Restore was founded to free those who were caught in bonded labor, sex trafficking, or otherwise exploited in India. In 2006, it expanded its focus to include human rights violations and education, and now serves Uganda, India, Somalia, Iraq and Nepal. www.restoreinternational.org
San Diego Dream Center
The Dream Center offers victims of human trafficking a six-month recovery home and an emergency shelter for adult female survivors of domestic human trafficking in California. The ministry also offers a rescue component that includes an outreach program, emergency hotline, networking with other organizations and law enforcement, and emergency shelter services. www.sandiegodreamcenter.org
Seeds of Hope
Founded by former San Diego businesswoman Penny Williams, the ministry was started after Williams met a man who said he traveled to Costa Rica regularly because of its sex industry. Williams and her husband sold their home and relocated to Costa Rico to begin Clubhouses catering to girls ages 8 to 17. The clubhouses offer safety, rehabilitation and education to children who are at risk or victims of sexual exploitation. The ministry now operates five clubhouses serving 120 at-risk girls. www.seedsofhopecr.com/
