The Truth About Trafficking—How Your Gift on North Texas Giving Day Helps Kids in North Texas Stay Safe
According to Traffick911’s Mission Engagement Coordinator Hannah Adeoye,
“We’ve all seen them—the heart-pounding movies, the scary headlines, and the social media shares. It’s likely that the words ‘child sex trafficking’ conjure up images of kids trapped in a dusty room somewhere—somewhere, ‘over there,’ right? But child sex trafficking is not just an ‘over there’ issue. It’s here too—in the United States, in North Texas—right under our noses. Here, it is more subtle and rarely starts with abductions, but rather manipulative and controlling relationships. In fact, the recent Federal Human Trafficking Report found from 2019-2023, less than 0.5% of victims in federal human trafficking prosecutions were kidnapped by their trafficker. So, let’s put the ‘white van’ scenes away for a minute.
“In our experience serving child sex trafficking victims across North Texas for nearly 15 years, child sex trafficking more often looks like broken trust, extreme manipulation, and exploited dreams and desires. It looks like broken relationships and fractured families. Many of the kids we serve were lured by a person promising them love, safety, security, hope and a future, only to be met with threats, violence, and a quota. Other children were trafficked by a family member or a family friend—people who should have been their safety net.
“So, where do we start? As a community, it can feel overwhelming. But Communities Foundation of Texas’ North Texas Giving Day empowers Traffick911 to respond to victims, we believe it all begins with relationships—countering the hurtful ones with healthy, safe ones. That’s why, with our Voice And Choice Program, we offer around-the-clock crisis intervention and continuous care for victims of child sex trafficking across all of North Texas.
“Once law enforcement has recovered a child, we pair highly trained advocates with that victim and their non-offending caregivers to walk alongside them on their freedom journey. The Advocate’s goal, first and foremost, is to build a trust-based relationship. Advocacy can look like having regular face-to-face meetings to set goals and safety plan, hosting support groups, celebrating milestones, attending court proceedings, and so much more! Our services are field-based, which means advocates meet kids and families right where they are. Simply put, when a survivor gets a Voice And Choice Advocate, they gain a friend.
“The support of our community and Communities Foundation of Texas every North Texas Giving Day empowers our Voice And Choice Advocates and Family Support Advocates to continue showing up for the resilient kids and caregivers we serve. Advocates get to say ‘yes’ to them because our community says ‘yes’ to us. Over the past five years, North Texas Giving Day has equipped Traffick911 to raise over $400,000 for more than 1,500 child sex trafficking victims across DFW and has assisted in tripling our team from 10 members to 31.”
In 15 years, Communities Foundation of Texas’ North Texas Giving Day has pumped more than $566 million into the North Texas community. In 2023, more than $63.9 million was raised through 97,000 donors benefiting 3,249 area nonprofits.
On Thursday, September 19, support Traffick911 by clicking here and spreading the word. #NorthTexasGivingDay2024
This article was originally published by MySweetCharity