County Supervisor Cindy Chavez
This summer, I have been interning for Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez, researching for her newly formed Human Trafficking Commission. Yesterday, the first commission meeting was held and it was a major success. I am so humbled by the strength of anti-trafficking efforts in our county–from the VTA (or local transportation system), to the juvenile court system, to the sherif, to the Office of Women’s Policy, to the district attorney, the decision makers in our county are explicitly working to combat the rampancy of human trafficking in our midst.
The commissioners discussed their current efforts, including law enforcement protocols, the creation of awareness curriculum for middle and high school students, trainings of medical professionals, hotel owners, airport staff, a program which ensures that vulnerable youth on buses are protected and brought to a safe shelter, and so much more. They also discussed gaps that need to be filled, namely a significant dearth in data, lack of funding for victim services, and a gap in support for male victims (especially in regards to housing).
The work is already being done from so many different perspectives, but now the County is finally pulling together all of the entities fighting human trafficking to establish a strongly coordinated response to the atrocity.
Read the Mercury News article about the commission here.
To Stop the Traffick 