Businesses Ending Slavery & Trafficking (BEST)

The Gulf Coast is a major hotspot for flourishing maritime commerce and trade. However, there is a darker side to the industry. People are likely to fall victim to labor trafficking in high trades areas. The ship canal area needs to be on guard for any signs of labor trafficking, or it can be a region of opportunity for exploiters to take advantage of. Check out our latest blog post for tips on how to help prevent human trafficking in the Gulf Coast ship canal.   #MaritimeIndustry #HumanTrafficking  

Julia Wells was an 18-year-old girl who had her whole life in front of her, dreaming of going to college to become a nursing assistant. In 2018, she told her mother she was meeting an alleged friend. Tragically, her body was discovered on the Dallas North Tollway. She was believed to have been pushed or fallen out of a moving vehicle. At the time, Julia’s mother was only told that her death may have been connected to human trafficking. Six years after her death, Julia’s mother has fought to preserve her legacy through justice and education, so that others would not have to experience the same grief and tragedy. The Julia Wells Act of 2021 mandated human trafficking prevention training for drivers ed and driving safety courses in Texas. Julia’s Mom continues to fight against human trafficking in her daughter’s memory and is striving to make colleges “no trafficking zones.” Julia’s death is heartbreaking, but her legacy leads to new beginnings in the long fight to end human trafficking. #EndHumanTrafficking #TxDMV #DriversLicense 

BEST is excited to attend the AHLA Foundation’s third annual No Room for Trafficking Summit on July 30th, which is also the United Nations’ World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. We are grateful to have been a recipient of the No Room for Trafficking Survivor Fund grant last year which is supporting our work to provide safe jobs for human trafficking survivors.

This International Pride Day, we celebrate the love, diversity, and resilience of the LGBTQ+ community. However, to truly stand with a community, it means to also highlight and raise awareness about the atrocities they continuously endure. Individuals in the LGBTQ+ community are disproportionately affected and targeted human traffickers. BEST continues to fight against the exploitation of people in the LGBTQ+ community, and we support those who have been affected by working with employers to hire human trafficking survivors. #NationalPrideDay #EndHumanTrafficking

Congratulations to our Safe Jobs Collaborative partner, Friends of Youth, for the ribbon cutting on their new housing location, Iva Place Kirkland! We are thrilled to see this wonderful new facility which will provide safe, stable housing for youth in need in our community.

A proposed New York bill would end the statute of limitations on sex crimes and help more sex trafficking survivors be able to seek justice for their exploitation years after healing. If passed, the current five-year statute of limitations on sex crimes in the state would end. The bill, S349A, was passed in the New York Senate on June 5. #HumanTrafficking #SexTrafficking #NewYorkState #ListenToSurvivors

Ten years ago, a teen girl in South Carolina went to a party where some people took embarrassing photos of her and then used them to threaten her that they would pass the photos around her high school unless she began working for them in commercial sexual exploitation. For many months she would sneak out at night to meet her trafficker and was exploited through commercial sexual exploitation, and then would go to school during the day, hiding her unsafe situation from her family. One day, she ran away from home, and her family didn’t know why until they found a strange phone number in her phone records. When the police dialed it, it connected to an escort service, and the investigation showed that the teen was caught up in a sex trafficking situation. Her story inspired a local schoolteacher and mother to start of nonprofit called Lighthouse for Life to help other victims of child sex trafficking who, like that young girl, often remain hidden, and are exploited right in their own community. This year, Lighthouse for Life is planning to open a new safe house for young girls who are victims of sex trafficking. 

We are inspired by wonderful people who take on big adventures to help raise funds and awareness to help stop human trafficking! This month Pedal the Pacific launched their bike ride through Washington, Oregon, and California to help fight human trafficking. The three-state ride launched with a sailing aboard Washington State Ferries from Seattle to Bremerton. BEST is proud to be partnering with Washington State Ferries to display our Not Alone signs, as well as providing human trafficking prevention training for their employees. Together, we can make a big difference in helping vulnerable people.

The Ventura County, California Sheriff's Office was able to recover a 17-year-old human trafficking victim after the girl was able to text 911 for help. The text to 911 feature also helped translate her situation and location since the girl does not speak English. She was able to text 911 in Spanish, which the system translated into English for the dispatcher. When the dispatcher responded--that message was translated into Spanish automatically, and within minutes, aid was sent to the girl's location. Not all counties in California have the text to 911 feature, but in this case, it was able to bring help quickly. https://lnkd.in/gJeugWQq

Seaports face particular challenges in identifying and combating human trafficking due to the transient nature of the maritime industry. The fast-paced environment, frequent turnover of personnel, and a lack of awareness among workers all pose obstacles to detecting human trafficking activities. Training employees at maritime businesses and port authorities to be able to recognize the indicators of human trafficking, and report instances safely, is essential. Check out our latest article in the Greater Houston Port Bureau news about what needs to be done to help prevent human trafficking in the Gulf Coast shipping industry. #Seaports #Maritime #Shipping #HumanTrafficking https://lnkd.in/g8SvwB_9