The Long Beach Human Trafficking Task Force (LBHTTF) is joining with the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) and the Long Beach PTA to offer the first Youth Exploitation Safety Symposium (YESS 2015), a gathering of more than 80 organizations, workshops and speakers aimed at keeping young people safe from the world of human trafficking. The event is free and open to parents, educators and students in grades 8—12. There will be supervised recreational activities for children under 13.
The event will take place Saturday, Jan. 31 from 9am to 3pm at Cabrillo High School, 2001 Santa Fe Ave.
With 500 attendees expected, YESS 2015 will have more than 40 nonprofits and government agencies present to answer questions and provide information, according to LBHTTF. There will be 15 workshops covering the issues of human trafficking, safety and empowerment. Translators will be available for those speaking Khmer, Spanish and Tagalog.
Speakers will include Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell (D-70), Long Beach City Councilmember Rex Richardson, Long Beach Deputy Police Chief David Hendricks and LBUSD Board of Education President Diana Craighead.
The keynote speaker, documentarian Nicole Clark, will explore the media’s negative effects on girls’ self-image and self-esteem, from oversexualization to the pressures to be thin and pretty.
A play depicting the real-life social situations that put teens at risk for violence and exploitation will be one of the featured presentations.
“We work daily with law enforcement and many community partners to keep our students and schools safe,” said LBUSD Superintendent Christopher J. Steinhauser. “As an extension of that work, we’re partnering with the City’s task force on this symposium, which will provide important information for students and parents. Our aim is to help prevent human trafficking through dialogue, education and increased awareness.”
Patrick Erlandson, YESS2015 co-chair, added, “The safety of young people in this age of the Internet and rapidly increasing sophistication in the exploitation of children is of critical importance in the 21st century. It takes more than law enforcement and the courts to defeat the nightmare of human trafficking and cyber-crimes being perpetrated against younger and younger victims. It will take community awareness and vigilance from parents, fellow students who look out for each other, their teachers and healthcare workers who educate and treat them. This first annual symposium will provide up-to-date information and resources for parents, teens and teachers.”
More information about the event is available by calling (562) 650-6539 and through the YESS2015 Facebook page: Youth Exploitation Safety Symposium- YESS!
The LBHTTF is a multidisciplinary, survivor-centered collaborative community effort by law-enforcement agencies and community-based organizations to combat human trafficking by identifying, rescuing and empowering survivors and assisting in the prosecution of traffickers. The task force conducts monthly meetings that are open to the public. For more information, call 1-844-LBH-THEL (1-844-524-8435).
Source: LBHTTF
