Letter: January is National Human Trafficking Awareness Month 

To the editor,

– Did you know that California is a national hotspot for trafficking due to its international borders, ports and being one of the top tourist destinations? Highway 101, which travels the length and connects to all major highways and cities in the state is considered a “corridor for trafficking.” Here in Paso Robles, especially on Highways 101 and 46E, we have probably driven past cars and trucks that are transporting victims and laborers for trafficking purposes.

Overview

January is declared National Human Trafficking Awareness Month. It was established in 2010 to shine a light on this heinous crime, which is happening in every part of America, even in our beautiful San Luis Obispo County. The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 equipped the Federal Government with new tools and resources to mount a comprehensive and coordinated campaign to eliminate modern forms of slavery domestically and internationally.

This law changed the way law enforcement and the judicial system saw victims and got them help, while arresting and convicting the perpetrators. See https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/violent-crime/human-trafficking

It has been an uphill battle since, as stereotypes can make it a difficult issue to grasp. People don’t outright see what’s happening, perpetrators come across as upstanding citizens, and for the most part, it’s ‘hidden in plain sight’. Some reasons for this include, it is:

• shocking and hard-to-believe trafficking is happening in our county, let alone own town,
• an embarrassing subject that most people don’t want to discuss,
• a deep dive that most don’t have time to research,
• a nefarious and taboo subject in many circles,
• spread out over 25 different industries around the nation,
• a recent approach to trauma-informed care to help those with multi-layered trauma & PTSD,
•  a slow process to get bills written, laws enforced, and criminals convicted.

Now in 2025, most counties in the US are on board with this effort and have trained their agencies on the current signs and red flags, along with implementing an Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force and actively participating in countywide human trafficking stings. In San Luis Obispo County, District Attorney Dan Dow formed an Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force in 2014. This gives opportunity for SLOCO agencies and organizations to network and learn from each other. It’s been a successful effort to have this collaboration working to address this crime and all its tentacles.

One tentacle is becoming more problematic recently and takes place over social media and in online chatrooms. Adult perpetrators are scamming vulnerable teens to believe that they are the same age, building friendship and trust, then threatening to exploit them if they don’t send more nude selfies or money.

“Sextortion” is a term for exploiting these unsuspecting young people for sex, money and even meet-ups, which is an extremely dangerous connection that kids aren’t ready to handle. To address the seriousness of sextortion, please visit this site and learn more. We can all be proactive by learning preventative measures and passing them on. The FBI reports 50% of their cybercrime targets 12-15 year olds, https://childsafety.losangelescriminallawyer.pro/children-and-grooming-online-predators.html

Last week, in our own community, Grover Beach Police detectives arrested a 59-year-old Pismo Beach resident on charges of meeting a minor for a lewd purpose. The arrest came after an investigation intercepted online child predators.

Freedom calling

Freedom Calling’s Mission is To see the lives of those involved in the commercial sex trade and those victimized by labor trafficking transformed, and to empower individuals and communities to walk in physical, emotional, spiritual and financial freedom.

In 2014, Freedom Calling, organized in San Luis Obispo County, as 100% grass roots and volunteer organization that became a 501.c3 in 2018 under Hope United. They began with one Initiative that listed and tracked local illicit massage parlors off Craigslist. Trafficking is nefarious and their illicit businesses come and go without notice, unless one is looking for them. The vision for this outreach was to contact these businesses, attempt to build a report with the “girls” and hand out small gifts and resources that could be helpful.

Today, freedom calling’s focus is on four Initiatives:

1. School and Community Presentations, including Cyber-Safety,
2. Trafficking Victims Assistance Program (TVAP), ASPIRE Grant through USCRI
3. Training Volunteer Advocates and Case Managers,
4. Community Awareness, “See Something, Say Something” Campaign.

In 2019, Freedom Calling became the recipient of The Trafficking Victims Assistance Program or TVAP and ASPIRE. Freedom Calling is the only federal sub-grantee from the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants and serving TVAP and ASPIRE clients along the Central Coast. The client load is increasing every year, mostly from labor trafficking work, but we served 8 referrals in 2024.

Freedom Calling has worked with vulnerable victims who have been trafficked in 11 of the 25 identified industries, where trafficking runs under the radar. See Polaris Project website, www.polarisproject.org. Those industries include: fast food restaurants and commercial cleaning services that hire undocumented workers, agriculture, modeling and escort businesses, motels/hotels, runaways from the foster care system, entertainment, those in the homeless encampments, as well as family members being exploited. It is the vulnerable who are groomed that fall prey to trafficking, that’s why it’s necessary to shine this light.

The tip of this work or anti-trafficking iceberg in SLO County includes: researching the National Human Trafficking industries, training to be CA certified advocates and case managers, getting the word and resources out in communities, answering calls to help families, building teams to train school staff and students and being on the frontlines to talk and hear experiences. It doesn’t all neatly fit into prevention education, management procedures and protocols and aftercare spaces, but we try.

To continue the fight against human trafficking in SLO County, Freedom Calling is recruiting volunteers:

• Advocate and Case Management Training is available,
• School & Community Prevention Education Training is available,
• Bilingual and Mixteco translators are needed now,
• See Something, Say Something Campaign canvassing is available.

In closing, Freedom Calling would like to “give a shout out” to the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors, District Attorney Offices and Victim Witness’ Offices for their vigilance in keeping this issue before the public. For almost a decade they have read and declared The Anti-Human Trafficking Proclamation for San Luis Obispo County and continue to shine a light on this insatiable appetite. In his address, Dan stated that trafficking cases are increasing, up to 18 cases in 2024 where 13 adults attempted to meet with 5 minors. See presentations here, https://youtu.be/uRxtf0XU7bY?si=NYPS-llfk5mIS05a .Our thanks to all of them for keeping this issue shining clearly in the public view, not hidden in plain sight.

Freedom is calling!

Ways to Get Involved/Take Action
1. Add the National Human Trafficking HOTLINE numbers to your contact lists. 1-888-3737-888 or Text BE FREE (233-733)
2. Meet us for coffee/chai to learn more or share your experiences in a confidential safe space.
3. Empower your group of adults or students to learn Red Flags and How to Report.
4. Empower your kids with proactive steps to help their friends.
5. Get trained and volunteer as an Advocate or Case Manager.
6. Bilingual translators are needed, especially the Mixteco language.
7. Invite us to join ongoing education classes or parent/resource nights.

Other references
https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/nashville/news/sextortion-a-growing-threat-targeting-minors

If you would like to learn more or get involved, please contact us.

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