$100,000 Awarded to Five Finalists Rising to the Challenge of Fighting Labor Trafficking
February 2, 2016
ACF Region Administrator Bob Garcia speaking at a press conference sponsored by the San Francisco Collaborative Against Human Trafficking.By Bob Garcia, Regional Administrator, Region 9
On Jan. 12, I had the privilege of speaking with a number of public officials at a press conference that was sponsored by the San Francisco Collaborative Against Human Trafficking . Formed in 2009, the San Francisco Collaborative has done an incredible job forging partnerships and encouraging collaboration amongst numerous federal, state and local entities.
Other speakers at the event included:
- Acting United States Attorney, Northern District of California, Brian Stretch
- San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon
- Regional Director for the U.S. Department of Labor, Elmy Bermejo
- San Francisco Supervisor Katy Tang
- Homeland Security Special Agent in Charge Ryan Spradlin
- Northern California Regional Intelligence Center Director Mike Sena
- California Attorney General Kamala Harris’ Special Assistant on Human Trafficking, Monica Ramirez
It was a power packed lineup of federal, state and local officials who are all dedicated to identifying and serving victims, prosecuting traffickers, and raising community awareness so that anti-human trafficking prevention campaigns can be more effective.
Due to Super Bowl 50 there has been much debate about whether there is an increase of sex and labor trafficking during such large sporting events. Anti-trafficking organizations like the San Francisco Collaborative are united in their message that more visitors to any city might increase demand. Bay Area federal, state and local representatives have used the many events leading up to the big game as an opportunity for outreach and raising community awareness by training airport personnel, hotel and motel employees, big rig truckers, Uber drivers, and many others.
We have worked hard to identify opportunities to support these events. During the last week of January, I was honored to represent the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) during two Department of Homeland Security human trafficking trainings for service providers and stakeholders that serve immigrant communities. Providing human trafficking resources and services to foreign-born, newly arriving populations such as refugees, asylees and other immigrants is critical to supporting all underserved and underrepresented populations. The response to the trainings was overwhelmingly positive. Due to misinformation about eligibility for health and human programs and services, we must be proactive in dispelling myths and encourage immigrant communities to obtain life saving and life changing services.
In 2016, ACF is committed to expanding the quality of the safety net for victims, training health and social service providers, strengthening data collection, developing a new public awareness and prevention campaign, and understanding and addressing the public health impact of human trafficking. We have much work ahead of us but through leveraging public private partnerships and working closely with our federal, state and local partners, we will continue to lead the fight against human trafficking.
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