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Covenant House Report on Youth and Trafficking August 19th, 2014
“Covenant House 43 10 jeh” by Jim.henderson – Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Zero, Public Domain Dedication via Wikimedia Commons
Covenant House, a nonprofit charity serving homeless youth with a network of shelters across the Americas, issued a report in May 2013 on youth and trafficking. Titled “Homelessness, Survival Sex and Human trafficking: As Experienced by the Youth of Covenant House New York”, the report offered a window into often invisible problem faced by homeless youth in America. The report includes a Human Trafficking Interview and Assessment Measure, an instrument which has been shown to be highly effective in identifying trafficking victims, and which can be used by others.
The report notes in conclusion that the “HTIAM-14 has been proven to be a useful and effective tool in identifying trafficking victims that would have otherwise been overlooked. However, identification is only the first step in helping a survivor to heal and reach his or her full potential. It is important that all survivors are provided with the vast array of social services needed to rebuild traumatized lives.”
The report continues: “As agencies learn more and begin to identify larger numbers of victims, policy makers, the private sector and non-profits need to work collaboratively to ensure that there are comprehensive and holistic services, including long-term shelter, psychological and medical services, and job training for all those who need them. It is also essential that we work together to reduce the contributing factors outlined in this report to prevent the trafficking of our most vulnerable youth.”
Download a copy of the report here…
For more information on what you can do to help trafficking victims, please see our resource page on human trafficking.
USCCB Delegation Examines Massive Youth Exodus from Central America January 27th, 2014
A delegation from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops recently traveled to Central America and Mexico to examine and understand why unaccompanied migrant children are fleeing the region in such record numbers.
The situation has reached crisis level. Whereas the number of children apprehended on the U.S./Mexico border averaged 6,800 between 2004-2011, it jumped to over 13,000 children in 2012 and over 24,000 children in 2013. The projected number for fiscal year 2014 is 60,000-70,000. Most come from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.
There are many factors that prompt these children to undertake such a perilous journey, and the delegation delves into those in their report. But simply put, these children are fleeing violence: generalized violence at both the state and local levels, which has led to a breakdown of the rule of law and created a culture of fear and hopelessness.
The delegation was led by Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, and included Jeanne Atkinson, Executive Director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC); Reverend Daniel Groody, Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame, and consultant to the USCCB Committee on Migration; Jane Bloom, Director, Washington Office of the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC); Kristyn Peck, Associate Director of Children’s Services, MRS/USCCB; Ashley Feasley, Immigration Policy Advisor, MRS/ USCCB; and Kevin Appleby, Director of Migration Policy and Public Affairs, MRS/USCCB.
Here are the full findings and recommendations.
OMI UN Update – February and March 2013 February 20th, 2013
The United Nations Commission on Social Development recently concluded its 10 day session in a call to give the poorest and most vulnerable populations the tools they need to lift themselves out of poverty
According to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s latest report on promoting people’s empowerment, nearly 80% of the world’s population is without adequate access to social protection, leaving those feeling powerless to improve their position. The report also states that while more than 600 million people have overcome poverty since 1990, 1 billion people are still struggling to reach that goal by 2015. Globally 200 million people were unemployed at the end of 2011, an increase of 27 million jobless persons since 2007 and 621 million young people are neither in employment, school or training nor looking for work.
Click here to read more »
World Youth Conference in Mexico: August 23-28, 2010 August 23rd, 2010
The World Youth Conference opened today in Mexico City. It is an initiative of the Government of Mexico, in partnership with the United Nations system and civil society organizations designed to bring together government representatives and civil society organizations to identify priorities of action on youth to be addressed in the international development agenda beyond 2015. With five years to go before the deadline set by the international community to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, Mexico, in partnership with the United Nations system, has invited all countries to participate in the World Youth Conference 2010.
For more information please visit: http://www.youth2010.org/
