The Internet is a great way to stay connected with family and friends living in different countries. It’s an amazing tool for work, study, and play. There are hundreds of games that connect people from America to South Korea to the Philippines! It’s amazing technology for sure.
However, there are people who use it to do wrong – to lure young children into trafficking. The New Colossus is a non-profit organization based in South Dakota that educates and equips youth to distance themselves from possible exploitation. They work toward prevention and early intervention of sex trafficking in the Midwest. They educate everyone and anyone about this issue. They want to let everyone know that this is happening around us. TNC believes that everyone plays a part in preventing it.
One of their problems is having people feel invested in this issue because most do not consider it as one before it is. A huge part of preventing is educating people on the vulnerabilities and early warning signs so the others can know what is happening to them.
What Do They Do?
Each day in the world of New Colossus is different. On some days they are in schools or offices educating the community about the early signs of trafficking. Their presentations are tailored to their audience. Then on other days, they work with groups in vulnerable situations like in-patient treatment systems or juvenile detention centers. However, once they receive a call from a victim, they drop everything they are doing to do an intervention.
Polly and Ashley are invested in finding the root cause of this very issue – why are a lot of children getting into trafficking. Polly mentioned that while safe houses are great, getting ahead by educating the youth about it is more important. The people in the community should be invested in preventing it. They want to empower the kids with information about this issue – how to protect themselves and their friends. They are very hopeful to put trafficking to an end.
How You Can Help
When asked what we can do, Polly said it is important to have conversations at home, in school and in the community about it. Keeping those conversations going is valuable in putting sex trafficking to a full stop.