January 11th is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. Human trafficking is a crime in which force, fraud or coercion is used to compel a person to perform labor, services or commercial sex. It affects all populations: adults, children, men, women, foreign nationals and U.S. citizens, and all economic classes.
Check out the alarming statistics provided by the Department of Defense:
20% of human trafficking victims are children
There is an estimated 99 billion made annually through sex trafficking
4.5 million people throughout the world are victims of forced sexual exploitation
One in six endangered runaways reported in the United States are likely to become victims of sex trafficking
Females forced into domestic servitude are often sexually exploited
You might be pondering, how you can join the fight against Human Trafficking. We are here today to share how you can make an impact. Heart To Heart Founder and President, Ashley Burney is on the Board of Trustees for St. Jude’s Ranch for Children. St. Jude’s Ranch for Children transforms the lives of abused and at-risk children, young adults and families by empowering them to create new chances, new choices and new hope in a caring community.
Leveraging more than a 50 year history of providing residential care to children and young people that have experienced complex trauma, St. Jude’s Ranch for Children will provide the Healing Center, the first of its kind program for the specialized care of child victims of sex trafficking.
The Healing Center will offer trauma specific treatment to victims with a goal to have them move along the continuum of healing, from victims to survivors, and then thriving in our community. Due to the complexity of emotional, physical, and sexual trauma experienced there will be an array of treatment modalities to meet these victims where they are in the healing process. Through this program, victims will receive treatment and services to address safety needs, gain a deeper understanding of the victimization they have experienced, improve self-esteem, develop and/or enhance motivation for change, improve life skills and empower them to reach life goals.
Click HERE for a virtual tour of the Healing Center
St. Jude's Ranch for Children and myself are calling on you - the leaders, corporations, philanthropists, and all community members to invest in the Healing Center. Change a life by making a meaningful gift to the Healing Center today.
When you support the Healing Center, a heart-shaped lock will be placed on our interactive donor recognition sculpture, The Healing Heart. We appreciate you considering how you might be able to support this critical project and share a piece of your heart by making a donation or making a gift in honor of someone you care about.
Sign up to volunteer with Heart To Heart. We will be completing several community service projects, benefitting St. Jude’s Ranch for Children.