Four student leaders from Youth Voice told twelve Commissioners of San Diego’s Commission on Gang Prevention and Intervention last month how important it is that they raise awareness, educate the community, and encourage other youth and adults to become involved in eliminating human and sex trafficking in San Diego.
The FBI states that among children and teens living on the streets in the United States, involvement in commercial sex activity is a problem of epidemic proportion. California harbors 3 of FBI's 13 highest sex trafficking areas in the nation: Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego. The youth leaders are devoted to advocating for the children and youth who do not have a voice.
Dana Brown, a commissioner on the Commission on Gang Prevention and Intervention and who co-founded Youth Voice, inner city youth, ages 11 to 20, who meet weekly at the Mid-City Police Division in partnership with the Juvenile Services Team, introduced the student leaders at Second Chance, a re-entry organization empowering their clients to make sustainable changes in their lives that positively impact society through reducing recidivism, unemployment, and homelessness
With underage sex trafficking in San Diego the second largest economy, Youth leader Jessica Rivera gave a call to action to the commissioners: to ensure that human and sex trafficking stays on the forefront of their work as city leaders. Jessica reflected, "Presenting at the Gang Commission was such an important step in spreading the voice of the youth, therefore, I felt so empowered and such proudness in being able to speak in front of important people. I also felt pride in the work we did because I know we put hard work into it, and the fact that they accepted us to present was a huge honor."
(left to right; Youth Voice Co-Facilitator Talitha Thompson, Mentor Stephanie Linderman, Youth Leaders Jessica Rivera, Tatiana Sanchez, Lizette Diego, and Katherine Rodriguez.)
Comments (0)