“Stranger danger,” missing poster on milk cartons, billboards, uber? Living in our current lives comes with the unfortunate mystery of many people who disappear and never come home. Typically, we give a glance of mere sympathy and carry on with our days, but who knew there was such tragedy happening in our own backyards that we aren’t even aware of?
Are those thousands of missing adults and children really just “missing” or victims of human trafficking?
“Human trafficking” or “trafficking in persons” are crimes in terms of a trafficker exploiting individuals by forcing them into acts of labor or commercial sex acts.
For example, the P-Diddy case. You may have seen it on your feed, made a few jokes, and moved on, but it’s a clear instance of human trafficking which has been just brushed under the rug for many years.
According to the State of California Department of Justice, and the National Human Trafficking Hotline; California is one of the largest sites in human trafficking cases. And what are we doing about it as a community?
On January 16, 2025, C.A.S.E. (Collision Against Sexual Exploitation) of San Bernardino County’s Children’s Network took action and put together their sixth annual Human Trafficking Symposium during National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, which would spread knowledge on the dangers of human trafficking. They have collaborated with school leaders, tribal and faith-based communities, advocates, community supporters, and county officials to help spread awareness and influence action by inviting Tim Tebow, an active anti-human trafficking advocate, to bring our community together on this issue.
I gratefully had the opportunity to attend this symposium and deepen my knowledge and understanding of this topic.
The room was filled with people working towards a cause. The welcoming atmosphere, dedication, and symbolism of growth and building a strong collaboration through the use of trees in marketing and decor truly made everyone feel like they were a part of something bigger.
This event delved deep into highlighting the ability to “call to action” by identifying the signs of trafficking, increasing awareness, empowering people, and advocating for this problem. Mr. Tim Tebow delivered his message and encouraged the audience to act rather than just be aware.
“I think people need to see the end result of real life change, they see with this awareness these people rally for this [problem] and they see the life that inspires you to keep doing it and every time that I get to hear a story or meet these incredible survivors, it’s the feel, the motivation that gives. It’s not just so that this room knows, it’s so that [the next person] can be in a place of protection. That is so much more fuel than just awareness. It’s awareness that leads so many people to action,” said Tebow.
Ashley Brooksheer, the newly appointed Network Officer, emphasized the importance of connections and collaboration.
“Our biggest problem is how big [human trafficking] really is and knowing that there are so many reports that are not received, there are so many times that maybe people are afraid to say something or report it. So I think that it is just creating the knowledge out there to know what the resources are so we could really do something about this huge problem,” said Brooksheer.
Individuals who have experienced the harsh realities of human trafficking including Ami Davis, Jesus “Jesse” Leon, Nola Brantley, and Emily Dickson shared their thoughts on how to educate youth on human trafficking and the knowledge not being shared regarding these problems.
“Getting educated through resources meant for you, not with resources that are meant for all the providers, but resources that are aimed at you. I think getting educated can really help you be an ally to your peers without perpetuating those stereotypes and stigmas because you’ll know clearly what kind of information you [should] share. So I think really getting educated, not specifically [on] adult information, but information that was tailored for you and all those young people is more relatable, more digestible, and more understandable,” said Brantley.
C.A.S.E.’s coordinator, Angel Magallanes’ lifelong pursuit is to gain more support, especially from school leaders and administrators to help encourage the new generation of advocates.
“Today I hope we moved the [anti-human trafficking] movement a little more forward. I hope that you young people take your messages and your posters and everything back to your schools and you advocate. You become that ally and take that ally-ship wherever you go,” said Magallanes.
As a young adult, today marks an important point that hard conversations such as human trafficking, are not only vital for awareness but rather to open the opportunity to connect with the community and create an emphasis on the importance of “not missing the mark,” as Tim Tebow quotes, to my generation and future ones. After all, it’s not the most valuable player, but the most vulnerable person.
“Don’t do it just for the thought of awareness, we need to make people aware but make it lead to action,” said Tim Tebow.
If you know of anyone who may be a victim of human trafficking, take this as your first step to ACT NOW and help our cause.
https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en/get-help
Call: 1-888-373-7888
Email: [email protected]
Text: 233733
