During the summer, your support is crucial to help Love146 continue to journey with survivors of child trafficking year round. The season can be a joyful time for lots of fun activities, however, there is a darker side of summer for survivors of trafficking. There is less adult supervision in the summer, which traffickers and people who want to take advantage of children exploit. Traffickers understand that there are fewer eyes on children.
Summertime can also heighten vulnerabilities for survivors of trafficking. Many kids will be sent to summer camp, but if families don’t have resources to supervise their kids during the season, young people are more susceptible to getting into trouble. Tamarra Clark, Connecticut Director of Love146 Survivor Care understands, “Part of risky behavior is just being a teenager, but if you’re a kid who has been exposed to trafficking, then that’s a different level of risk that’s also included.”
School also provides support systems that children wouldn’t otherwise have access to. Love146 Chief Programs & Strategy Officer Erin Williamson shared, “School offers a lot. School offers food, counselors, and guidance counselors, nurses, and health care, all of which go away in the summer. We need to work really closely with them to make sure that they still feel cared for, they still feel connected, they are still making healthy choices and they still feel like there’s someone that they can go to when they need support.”
At Love146, we provide direct support to trafficking-related issues, but also provide holistic care to children. We help young people think creatively, have joy, experience hope, and try new things that they would not otherwise have access to explore. Love146 US Survivor Care Director Marlena King recognizes that some survivors, “don’t have the opportunity of being a kid. We will go to the park with them and they will go on the swings – that’s all they wanted to do. They’re just happy having that opportunity to have someone take them.”
“It’s really about consistency,” said Tamarra Clark. “We make sure we’re continuing to be a support around food, resources or just an adult to engage with – someone who’s going to talk to and really care about what’s going on in your life.”
When you donate this season, it helps Love146 continue to show up for youth. “Your support this summer is a game changer,” said Marlena King. “If you’re a youth and you had a counselor that you’re really close with, and then that just kind of stops in the summer, that is a huge support in your life that no longer exists.”
You can be the support that helps kids this summer season. Consider donating to our summer campaign here to make a difference in the lives of survivors of trafficking today.
