Specialized Services for Youth Impacted by Commercial Sexual Exploitation
Youth Collaboratory and its partner, the Center for Combating Human Trafficking (CCHT) at Wichita State University provide resources and tools to community-based providers who work with young people exposed to violence, exploitation, and trafficking through:
- Training and consulting services for mentoring programs for youth and young adult survivors of sex trafficking
- Creation of a toolkit on emerging research and promising practices working with youth survivors of sex trafficking
- A national public awareness campaign on sex trafficking of youth in the U.S. (developed under our former name, MANY)
Under this initiative, Youth Collaboratory and CCHT provide training and consulting for funded programs to develop or enhance services based on best practices for youth who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation or are highly vulnerable. This includes:
- developing or updating strategies to recruit and maintain mentors to serve under-identified and underserved populations;
- beginning or enhancing efforts to identify and enroll girls, boys, and LGBTQ youth who are in need of services;
- strengthening prevention and early intervention practices to reduce victimization and juvenile justice involvement; and most importantly,
- providing needed services for these youth.
Programs also enhance community collaboratives and partnerships, address local needs, and use local resources.
Wondering what it takes to launch a successful mentoring program for youth with CSEC experience? In this newly released podcast, local, and national experts share strategies and lessons learned in program development, including screening, training, and supporting mentors to ensure that youth experience healthy relationships with caring adults.
Listen to other episodes of our What If …? Podcast for more about mentoring and human trafficking prevention.
To learn more about this initiative, and our work to prevent and end violence, exploitation, and trafficking, contact K. Lenore Jean-Baptiste at lenore@youthcollaboratory.org.
