September is Suicide Prevention Month. Many of the core issues that make children vulnerable to trafficking also put them at risk of suicide.
In our child trafficking prevention curriculum, Not a Number, we address vulnerabilities – things like rejection from family, addiction, bullying, low self-esteem, and previous sexual victimization. There are organizations across the U.S. that have facilitators bringing the Not a Number curriculum to young people in their communities. They work to build trust with youth while giving them opportunities to bravely talk about what they’re going through.
Anne LaFrinier-Richie – a Not a Number facilitator from the organization Someplace Safe in Minnesota recently sent us this message:
As I’m transferring these numbers [of children we’ve reached with Not a Number], I actually have goosebumps. I am thinking of the lives of youth that we have changed; I’m thinking back to my own facilitation where on two separate occasions youth disclosed suicide ideation and plans, and I was able to refer them to immediate crisis services that resulted in mental health placements. I’m one of well over 100 facilitators [in Minnesota], and I’m just thinking of all of these opportunities we’ve had to make a real and very meaningful difference in youth’s lives and it just feels so so cool. Thank you times 100,000,000 for giving us the tools to have tough conversations with youth, who desperately need the opportunities to share how they feel and what they’ve experienced!!
No matter what’s happened to them in the past, every child deserves to see tomorrow. Your support is helping make that a reality. Thank you times 100,000,000!
