Ensure Children are Safe from Traffickers
Estimates show that in the United States, over 1.6 million children under age 18 experience homelessness in a given year, and more than 46,000 children and young people can be found living on the streets on any given night.[1] Too often, they go unnoticed, quietly trafficked into forced labor or the commercial sex industry.
Homeless children and young people experience high rates of victimization, exploitation, and human trafficking. Approximately 1 in 4 homeless and runaway children and young people have been a victim of sex trafficking or have engaged in survival sex, often because they did not have a safe place to stay, according to a study by Covenant House, a New York City provider of services to homeless youth.[2]
The Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act (H.R.1779, S.262) ensures life-saving housing, food, and support reaches these children and young people and helps protect them from traffickers.
We need your help to ensure that these critical services to America's homeless youth are maintained and strengthened. Together, we can ensure children have a safe place to sleep tonight.
SOURCES
[1] https://www.nn4youth.org/learn/how-many-homeless/
[2] https://d28whvbyjonrpc.cloudfront.net/s3fs-public/attachments/Covenant-House-trafficking-study.pdf
Dear U.S. Senate,
America's children deserve a safe place to sleep. I call upon you to protect our most vulnerable youth and pass the Runaway and Homeless Youth Trafficking Prevention Act.
The Runaway and Homeless Youth Trafficking Prevention Act provides life-saving housing, food and support for young people, which can help prevent them from becoming victims of modern slavery. Runaway and homeless youths remain the most vulnerable to exploitation by human traffickers. With more than 1.6 million homeless teens in the US the time to reauthorize the Runaway and Homeless Youth Trafficking Prevention Act is now.
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Yours sincerely,
[Your name]
