LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month, and a local organization that provides services for victims is working to bring more attention to the crime.
Lake Family Resource Center received a $550,000 three-year grant in 2019 from the Office for Victims of Crime, part of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Kara Roberts, Lake Family Resource Center’s human trafficking program coordinator, said they are now in the third year of the grant and preparing to apply for more funding.
The federal Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that arrests, prosecutions and sentencings in human trafficking cases have increased nationwide.
Human trafficking is estimated to be a $32 billion industry worldwide, according to
Roberts said Human Trafficking Awareness Month is a chance to educate the community about the crime, but she said the first question people ask her is if it’s happening here in Lake County.
“It’s a victimization that’s as old as time,” said Roberts, who called it “modern day slavery.”
In 2020, the first year of the grant, Lake Family Resource Center built its program to help the victims of human trafficking, Roberts said.
She said in year two — which was last year — they began providing direct services. In 2021, Lake Family Resource Center served 18 clients, of which 13 had been the victims of sex trafficking and five had been subjected to labor trafficking.
Altogether, Roberts said the organization provided 1,108 services that year to those 18 clients last year.
Services that she said are offered include one on one counseling, crisis intervention, referrals for therapy, emergency shelter, financial assistance for food and clothing, and advocacy — both personal and in the courts — along with support groups and transportation.
For the community at large, they are continuing their education efforts. However, Roberts noted that while she believes more people are understanding the issue, “There is a long way to go.”
She said they will work with Upper Lake High School in the next month to educate the high school students there and have plans to work with other local schools.
Roberts said it’s important to speak to students about the dangers, as the average age of recruitment for the victims of human trafficking is 12 to 14, Roberts said.
“They like to get them young” because they are easier to manipulate and brainwash, she said of traffickers.
Roberts added that when it comes to human trafficking, “It’s hard for people to talk about.”
This month, Roberts has received proclamations from the Board of Supervisors and the Clearlake and Lakeport city councils declaring Human Trafficking Awareness Month in Lake County.
She said the center also has done extensive outreach, including outdoor banners, social media and blue magnets placed on law enforcement vehicles. Of the magnets, Roberts said, “That was exciting. That was our second year doing that.”
They’ve also distributed stencils to be placed in the front windows of county businesses, with business owners and organizations also signing a pledge to combat human trafficking.
Roberts said Susie Q’s doughnuts also did a blue doughnut this month to raise funds for Lake Family Resource Center, Roberts said.
To find out more about the center’s human trafficking program, call 707-279-0563, visit the group’s Facebook page or its website.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Lake Family Resource Center builds program to fight human trafficking
- Elizabeth Larson
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