TO ESCALATE THE CONFLICT ACROSS THE MIDDLE EAST, WHILE RAISING AWARENESS ABOUT SEX TRAFFICKING. TONIGHT, SURVIVOR ARE SHARING THEIR STORIES ON WHAT’S RECOGNIZED AS NATIONAL HUMAN TRAFFICKING AWARENESS DAY, AND THEY SPOKE AT A SUMMIT FOCUSING ON SEX TRAFFICKING HAPPENING RIGHT HERE IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. KCRA THREE’S LEE ANNE DENYER WAS THERE AS WOMEN WERE SHARING THEIR STORIES AND LEANNE, THEY’RE SPEAKING OUT TO TRY TO HELP OTHERS, RIGHT? YEAH, EXACTLY RIGHT. THE PARTICIPANTS IN TONIGHT’S FORUM SAY THESE ARE DIFFICULT, HEAVY CONVERSATIONS TO HAVE. BUT AS VICTIMS CONTINUE TO GET YOUNGER AND THE THREAT REMAINS REAL, THEY SAY THESE ARE IMPORTANT CONVERSATIONS TO BE HAVING. SAMEERA CHANDLER NO LONGER CARRIES THE SHAME OF HER STORY. SHE SAYS SHE’S TURNED TRAUMA INTO PURPOSE. I’M A MOTHER. UM, NOT ONLY AM I A MOTHER, BUT IT TAKES ME BACK TO THAT SIX YEAR OLD GIRL WHO WANTED SOMEBODY TO HELP HER. CHANDLER JOINED A PANEL OF WOMEN THURSDAY NIGHT TO HAVE HARD CONVERSATIONS ABOUT SEXUAL EXPLOITATION, HUMAN TRAFFICKING, AND WHAT CAN BE DONE TO STOP THE VIOLENCE. CHANDLER WAS SEXUALLY ABUSED AS A YOUNG CHILD. THAT ABUSE CONTINUED INTO HER TEEN YEARS. NO KID IS ASKING FOR THIS. YOU KNOW, FIRST OF ALL, THEY DON’T EVEN HAVE A CHOICE, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT’S BEING TAKEN FROM AN ADULT. THEY’RE NOT ASKING FOR THIS. TOGETHER, THEY SHARED STORIES OF HEARTBREAK, BUT ALSO STRENGTH, RESILIENCY AND FORGIVENESS. THEY SPOKE AT A HUMAN TRAFFICKING AWARENESS SUMMIT ORGANIZED. BY PROJECT TAKE, A PROGRAM BY SACRAMENTO SOCIAL JUSTICE NONPROFIT IMPACT. LEAH SCHENK IS ITS FOUNDER. THIS IS REALLY TO GIVE RESOURCES TO THE COMMUNITY TO LET THEM KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR, TO LET THE COMMUNITY KNOW JUST HOW BAD THIS PROBLEM IS HERE IN SACRAMENTO COUNTY, ACCORDING TO THE SACRAMENTO COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE, BETWEEN 2015 AND 2020, MORE THAN 13,000 PEOPLE WERE VICTIMS OF SEX TRAFFICKING IN SACRAMENTO COUNTY ALONE. THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE SAYS. DATA SUGGESTS ONLY 1 IN 11 CASES ARE EVER REPORTED. XIANG SAYS IT’S THE SURVIVORS THAT KEEP HER GOING. JUST KNOWING THAT THEY DON’T HAVE TO FEEL ALONE. THEY DON’T HAVE TO FEEL LIKE THE WORLD IS AGAINST THEM. THEY DON’T HAVE TO FEEL LIKE THE ONLY TIME SOMEBODY IS HELPING THEM IS IF THEY WANT SOMETHING IN RETURN. FOR CHANDLER, SHE SPEAKS OUT TO RAISE AWARENESS. IF WE’RE NOT THEIR VOICE, THEN WHO IS? AND WE HAVE TO BE THE VOICE TO HELP THEM FINDING SHARED PEACE, SHE SAYS. ALONGSIDE OTHERS WHO FEEL CALLED TO SHARE THEIR STORIES, TOO. I DON’T HAVE TO KNOW THEM. WOMEN. I JUST MET THEM WOMEN TODAY AND THEY’RE FOREVER GOING TO BE MY SISTERS BECAUSE WE DO SHARE THE SAME PAIN, WE SHARE THE SAME STORY, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT OF A DIFFERENT OF A STORY, BUT THE SAME. CHANDLER RUNS THE NONPROFIT SAVING GRACE HALAL HEARTS, PROVIDING RESOURCES AND SUPPORT TO AT RISK GIRLS IN THE SACRAMENTO AREA. TODAY, APRIL 11TH, IS HUMAN TRAFFICKING AWARENESS DAY. AL
'We have to be a voice to help them': Human trafficking summit raises awareness in Sacramento County
Updated: 9:28 AM PST Jan 12, 2024
Sameerah Chandler no longer carries the shame of her story. She now channels her trauma into purpose.“I’m a mother,” she said. “Not only am I a mother, but it takes me back to that 6-year-old girl who wanted somebody to help her, like everybody up there.”Chandler joined a panel of women Thursday night to discuss sexual exploitation, human trafficking, and the resources available in Sacramento County to stop the violence as part of Project TAKE’s Human Trafficking Awareness Summit. Chandler was sexually abused as a young child and that abuse continued into her teen years. She now shares her story, she said, to raise awareness about sexual exploitation and to try and stop other families from experiencing the same pain she did as a child.“No kid is asking for this,” she said. “They don't even have a choice, especially when it is being taken from an adult. They're not asking for this.”Project T.A.K.E. (Trafficking-Awareness-Knowledge-Empowerment) is a program by Sacramento social justice nonprofit Empact. The prevention program for teens seeks to help young people reduce their exposure to possible exploitation and how to seek resources should they need them. Leia Schenk is its founder.“It's not an easy life to get out of and when you are out of it, you still need after care,” Schenk said. “That’s one of the things I do as an advocate is make sure that we have aftercare, some type of aftercare. Once you are home, you still need services.’’Schenk shared her own experiences with the crowd of people who attended Thursday, helping families locate missing children and working to remove vulnerable youth from exploitation through on-the-ground work. She said the survivors pushed her to keep going with the difficult work.“The survivors. The victims. Just knowing that they don’t have to feel alone. They don’t have to feel like the world is against them. They don’t have to feel like the only time somebody is helping them is if they want something in return,” Schenk said.According to the Sacramento County Sheriff's office, between 2015 and 2020, more than 13,000 people were victims of sex trafficking in Sacramento County alone. The district attorney’s office says data suggests only 1 in 11 cases are ever reported.For Chandler, she speaks out to raise awareness.“If we're not their voice who is? We have to be a voice to help them,” Chandler said.Chandler also runs Saving Grace Hala Hearts, an organization that provides support and resources to at-risk teens and girls in the Sacramento County area.Here are resources for survivors: Capital Star Community ServicesEmpact: Project T.A.K.E3 StrandsCommunity Against Sexual Harm (CASH)See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app.
Sameerah Chandler no longer carries the shame of her story. She now channels her trauma into purpose.
“I’m a mother,” she said. “Not only am I a mother, but it takes me back to that 6-year-old girl who wanted somebody to help her, like everybody up there.”
Chandler joined a panel of women Thursday night to discuss sexual exploitation, human trafficking, and the resources available in Sacramento County to stop the violence as part of Project TAKE’s Human Trafficking Awareness Summit.
Chandler was sexually abused as a young child and that abuse continued into her teen years. She now shares her story, she said, to raise awareness about sexual exploitation and to try and stop other families from experiencing the same pain she did as a child.
“No kid is asking for this,” she said. “They don't even have a choice, especially when it is being taken from an adult. They're not asking for this.”
Project T.A.K.E. (Trafficking-Awareness-Knowledge-Empowerment) is a program by Sacramento social justice nonprofit Empact. The prevention program for teens seeks to help young people reduce their exposure to possible exploitation and how to seek resources should they need them. Leia Schenk is its founder.
“It's not an easy life to get out of and when you are out of it, you still need after care,” Schenk said. “That’s one of the things I do as an advocate is make sure that we have aftercare, some type of aftercare. Once you are home, you still need services.’’
Schenk shared her own experiences with the crowd of people who attended Thursday, helping families locate missing children and working to remove vulnerable youth from exploitation through on-the-ground work. She said the survivors pushed her to keep going with the difficult work.
“The survivors. The victims. Just knowing that they don’t have to feel alone. They don’t have to feel like the world is against them. They don’t have to feel like the only time somebody is helping them is if they want something in return,” Schenk said.
According to the Sacramento County Sheriff's office, between 2015 and 2020, more than 13,000 people were victims of sex trafficking in Sacramento County alone. The district attorney’s office says data suggests only 1 in 11 cases are ever reported.
For Chandler, she speaks out to raise awareness.
“If we're not their voice who is? We have to be a voice to help them,” Chandler said.
Chandler also runs Saving Grace Hala Hearts, an organization that provides support and resources to at-risk teens and girls in the Sacramento County area.
Here are resources for survivors:
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app.
