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Fresno - Human trafficking is modern day slavery – people taken from their homes or countries, and made to work for little or no money.
And it's happening here.
That's why the first ever conference on human trafficking was held in Fresno Wednesday.
"I was in the system when I was a kid, I lived on the streets," said Carissa Phelps who was once a victim of human trafficking, now she's a survivor.
"I grew up in Coalinga, and born in Fresno. I ran away from home when I was 12 years old, put out in the streets, turned out and forced into prostitution," said Phelps.
State and county officials, law enforcement, and several agencies gathered in Fresno to address the issue in the first ever conference.
Fresno County ranks as the sixth highest area in the state for reported incidents of human trafficking.
"Just last night there were a number of girls on Blackstone Avenue, they were under 18 years old, a number of them are runaways, they're not being reported, they think it's their fault so they don't identify as victims, and it's happening every night," said Phelps.
Law enforcement says they have active cases in cities like Fresno, Clovis, and Huron.
"The victims can be men and boys, but it's primarily women and girls, really young, innocent people who are promised things. It's a situation that's very tragic," said Fresno County Supervisor Susan Anderson, who attended the conference.
And experts say victims of human trafficking aren't just forced to work as prostitutes.
"It can include people being brought into the country and working off a debt that never gets paid down. Domestic servitude, the nanny, the maid, those kinds of things," said Jody Ketcheside with the Transitional Living Center.
The goal of the conference was to raise awareness and bring agencies together so they can better identify victims and not only rescue them, but get them help.
"Give them a chance to heal. Give them support they need for a very long healing process, and we want to make that okay," said Phelps.
To give you an idea of how big the problem is in our own backyard, the National Human Trafficking hotline says they received 14 reports of human trafficking in Fresno County during the first three months of this year alone.
And just last month, Fresno police arrested one man, and discovered two women in southwest Fresno, in connection to human trafficking.
If you think someone you know is a victim of human trafficking, you can call this toll–free hotline for help: 1–888–373–7888.
Human Trafficking Conference in Fresno - KMPH Fox 26 Central San Joaquin Valley News Source in Fresno, California Entertainment, News, Sports and Weather |
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