LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Local officials are partnering to raise the community’s awareness this month regarding the growing crime of human trafficking.
On Tuesday, the Lakeport City Council presented a proclamation to Victim Services Program Director Sheri Young of Lake Family Resource Center, declaring January as Human Trafficking Awareness Month.
In thanking the council, Young said it was the first proclamation recognizing Human Trafficking Awareness Month that they’ve received in Lake County.
The Clearlake City Council would follow up with its own proclamation on Thursday.
In 2019, Lake Family Resource Center announced a new initiative to offer services and support to victims of human trafficking.
At the end of that year, the organization received a three-year grant of $550,000 to support its efforts from the Office for Victims of Crime, part of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Young said the grant-funded program has been very successful, even with the sheltering in place required by COVID-19.
She said she believes that, together, we can put an end to the heinous crime of human trafficking.
The proclamations explain that human trafficking “is a borderless crime against individuals that violates the most basic human rights and deprives victims of human dignity and denies freedom to 32 million people around the world.”
It’s the fastest-growing criminal industry globally, and California ranks third among the states in the number of potential reports of human trafficking.
Because it can involve the exploitation of children and youth for commercial sex acts, the proclamations say that “it’s imperative that our young people and their families learn how to recognize risks and resist predators who use coercion and threats to manipulate children and young adults into sex and labor trafficking.”
Lake Family Resource Center’s services to address human trafficking include 24-hour hotline services and continuing support, advocacy and accompaniment to survivors.
In January and beyond, community members are “urged to support the efforts of the agencies assisting victims of human trafficking and urges all local governments, schools, businesses and community members to be aware and report any suspicious activity to local police departments and help shine the light on trafficking.”
Young also encouraged people to wear blue on Jan. 11, which is a day of action and National Human Trafficking Awareness Day.
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January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month
- Elizabeth Larson
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