Human Trafficking/Modern-Day Slavery

Human Trafficking (or Modern-Day Slavery) is more prevalent in the United States than we'd like to acknowledge.

In Louisiana, Governor John Bel Edwards set aside a chunk of money to form the Louisiana Child & Youth Trafficking Collaborative (LCYTC), and on the federal level, the Department of Homeland Security  has identified human trafficking as a serious national concern.  Child trafficking can take the form of forced labor or sexual exploitation, and generally removes the child from the city where he or she lives.   Many missing children are or become victims of Human Trafficking.

Kids who are more vulnerable to being trafficked are those who:

• experience poverty
• run away from home
• are rejected by their families or in foster care
• experience abuse
• experience parental divorce or separation
• live with a person who struggles with substance abuse
• live with a person who struggles with mental health
• live with a person who is or has been incarcerated
• are in geographical transition (moving, needing to make new friends)