wow..bring us back some info from the meeting!!
Since you asked bitt, the meeting was interesting, shorter than scheduled and could have been more but I think they are just getting started. However, this is the second meeting and most of the people there were in professions that might encounter trafficked people; counselors, social workers, police, sheriffs, Health and Human Services workers, etc. The speaker is working on a medical task force to train trauma/ER workers on what to look for AND who to call for help. They applied for a grant. It is a new push and seems to be “in process”.
I learned these places in Texas help trafficked individuals who have been rescued: Refuge Ranch in Bastrop County, SAFE in Austin, RYMA’s Drop-In Center in San Antonio for youth, and The Village in Midland.
One new law from this legislature in Texas requires sex related business to post the Human Trafficking Hotline number in their restrooms.
The CSE-IT (https://www.westcoastcc.org/cse-it/) can be used to assess at risk youth.
SAFE Dates Curriculum is available for educators https://www.blueprintsprograms.org/factsheet/safe-dates
Traffick911 is a Texas-based non-profit organization existing to free youth from sex trafficking through prevention, identification and empowerment. http://www.traffick911.com/
A21 Campaign has safe houses in Cali and North Carolina. Evidently based in Australia. https://www.endslaverynow.org/blog/articles/christine-caine-the-a21-campaign
The speaker plans to use “Chosen” from Shared Hope International with her church youth group and wants to spread it to other church youth groups. Her passion as a family nurse practitioner and strong Christian was obvious. https://sharedhope.org/chosen/
She persevered to speak to the Abilene ISD superintendent who asked to to present at a regional meeting of school leaders. Some don’t want to face what may be happening but need to be aware and look for victims. Curriculum for training educators has been developed and will be used at in service training this summer.
Average age of trafficked youth is 12-14. I haven’t looked into these groups, not time today. If anyone wants to dig please feel free to do so! I guess the determination needs to be made whether these groups are in cooperation with our President or not. The problem is real and I want to know more in order to be of use to the pregnancy center where I volunteer.