What’s going on in Phoenix this February?
Yesterday I went to a luncheon to learn about and raise money for victims of human trafficking.
The stats are truly horrifying. The presentation was by The Dream Center, a facility that rescues and rehabilitates young women and men who have been trafficked.
The speakers were Shauna Sexton, Human Trafficking Programs Director, and JoAnna Shipe, Corporate Initiatives Director. They gave us a powerful and gut wrenching presentation.
Did you know?
• That in Phoenix there is the Super Bowl and a major golf tournament going on in February? That five percent of the men attending will be buying sex? That equals more than 30,000 men looking for trafficked girls and boys.
• The number one prospects are boys from eight to 12 years old.
• Human trafficking is the number two enterprise worldwide.
• In 2020, there was a 98% increase in online attempts by human traffickers. Why? Because of the COVID shutdowns, kids spent more time on their computers at home. Computers were no longer placed in the kitchen, but in their bedrooms. That was because parents were working from home and kids taking online classes.
• There was a 40% increase in human trafficking after COVID.
• Most kids are groomed into human trafficking over a six-month to two-year period. Often it’s online, on social media, by someone who is a friend of a friend.
• Traffickers hire good looking guys to befriend quiet, shy or vulnerable girls. They are usually 19 to 20 years old but look 14 or 15.
• Less than 1% of trafficked kids are rescued.
• Girls and boys are trafficked an average of 10 to 12 times per day.
• The Dream Center in Phoenix has a 92% success rate of rehabilitating these kids and they transition into school or careers. They have 5,400 survivors since its inception in 2002. It’s the largest facility serving this community in the nation and the second largest in the world.
From the Dream Center website:
Our nonprofit (City Help Inc of Phoenix dba Phoenix Dream Center) was founded in 2002 as a Christ Centered Outreach Ministry.
We’re on a mission to stop human trafficking, end childhood hunger and educate tomorrows leaders. We do this through residential life recovery programs and community engagement outreach services.
https://phoenixdreamcenter.org/story/
I wrote a story after my first meeting with this organization HERE.
Do these stats change how you view human trafficking? What organizations in your area provide services for human trafficking?
This is very disturbing. 🥲🥲🥲
I’m sure it’s a worldwide problem.
It is. More prevalent in some countries than others, but it is everywhere.
It’s shocking to hear the statistics. Also that it is happening in neighborhoods like mine, not the poorer neighborhoods.
Yes. It’s basically for sex so the rich people would be more involved in it.
Correct. Think how much money people are paying for Super Bowl tickets and for homes to rent.
Yes, that’s true.
🥵
Just horrific
It is. It’s such a sad thing to think about in relationship to major sporting events too.
I know
😡
It’s rarely spoken of here and it clearly exists in a big way. Social issues are given priority, just like everything else. I guess the greater Seattle area would rather focus on moving unhoused camps at this time…
I think it’s an issue that needs more attention.
So sad, thanks for putting a microscope on the problem. The things we do to each other. Just very sad.
It is so sad. When I flew to Oakland from Phoenix to visit my kids, I noticed in the airplane bathrooms signs that if you were a victim of human trafficking, to let a staff member know, plus it listed an 800 number to call for help. I’ve never seen that before.
I’m noticing those signs more on interstate highways and rest stops. I’m noticing them more and more.
I hope they help!
Very interesting, and sad!
It’s something that was completely out of my radar until recently.
How could a place with such beautiful skies have such ugly predators? Some people are really sick.
I’m sure it’s occurring across the nation, but Phoenix is a hot spot because of the freeways connecting to so many states including CA, CO, UT, NM etc. It’s hub.
It turns my stomach! The only reason children are trafficked is because someone is willing to pay to have sex with a child! These people should be hunted down, prosecuted, and put in jail. That’s the only way it’s ever going to stop. Thanks for shinning some light on a dark issue. Hugs, C
They should be hunted down and arrested. But we don’t even know who traveled to Epstein’s Island! Another fact that upset me was that often the kids are trafficked by a family member including grandmas, aunts and uncles!
That’s awful, I didn’t realize family members participated the trafficking!
It was shocking.
I once read that 37% of all traffic accidents are caused by a drunk driver. Nasty stat, EXCEPT, that means that in 63% both drivers were sober. So statistically, you are safer on the road drunk. Well, we know this is not true, I am just making a point that statistics can be skewed to meet a specific agenda. In your case, they were trying to raise money to fight human trafficking, so they are going to pound home the angle that alarms you the most.
That’s an interesting perspective.
Not original. I read that same viewpoint a few years ago…the part about drunk driving. Perspective is everything.
FYI, I’m taking a tour of the facility that rehabilitates the young people in February. I can’t imagine the horrors they’ve lived through. I’ll take donations from my closets.
Bring a gross of Kleenex boxes.
No kidding. I’m also going to clean out my closets and bring boxes of shoes and clothes.
Hands-on is far more convincing than statistics. One is life, the other is numbers.
👍🏼