Santa Cruz, Monterey counties still hubs for human trafficking
SANTA CRUZ – Truck stops, roadside motels and rural highways. The ordinary spaces remind Deborah Pembrook of her childhood as a sex slave.
Those places, and other upscale sites, are hubs for California’s thriving human-trafficking industry today, Pembrook said during a presentation Saturday at Santa Cruz Police Department.
She showed map of the U.S. with the nation’s largest concentration of human trafficking in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Central Coast. Pembrook, who continues to fight the problem through the Coalition to End Human Trafficking in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties, is part of a movement teaching people how to identify the subtle signs of human trafficking.
Today, predators can reach vulnerable children through phones, social media, gaming platforms, and the internet, often before families realize something is wrong. Finding Kids responds through three core programs: Recover. Care. Target. We help locate missing and exploited children, support families during and after recovery, and work with law enforcement to identify and disrupt those who exploit youth. Our work continues after a child is found because recovery is only the beginning. By combining investigations, aftercare, and prevention, we help children return safely to their homes, schools, and communities while building a future where every vulnerable child receives help before crisis becomes exploitation. We are a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and 100% of your tax-deductible donation goes directly towards keeping kids safe. We cannot do this work without your support.
*Names has been changed to protect the victim’s identity.