High school students are raising awareness about human trafficking in Santa Barbara County, a place where minors as young as 12 are victims.

California has the highest number of human trafficking cases in the United States, according to the FBI, and Santa Barbara County is a hot spot for compromise because of its location between the two major cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco.

According to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office, there have been more than 229 sex trafficking survivors in the county since 2017, 30% of whom are under 18 years old.

“A lot of people who are trafficked don’t even realize they’re being trafficked,” said 11th grader Elana Rowan, who started the Students for Survivors club at San Marcos High School with her friend Chase Thompson.

“They give up their safety to get love and attention from people, not knowing that they are putting themselves in dangerous and abusive situations,” Rowan explained.

Over the summer, Rowan and Thompson were two of six interns in the county. Strategic alliance to fight against exploitation (SAFE), a group of regional partners that works under the county umbrella Human Trafficking Working Group to help fight sex trafficking and forced labor.

SAFE manages a fund allocated to organizations working to prevent human trafficking, assist at-risk populations, and protect survivors – all in the name of achieving county goals. three-year strategic plan end the buying and selling of human beings in Santa Barbara.

SAFE is the “gas in the tank” to specifically combat child exploitation, Kayla Peterson said. Peterson is a leadership integrator at Kingdom Causes Inc. (KCI), who was hired by the county attorney’s office to see the plan come to fruition.

Peterson and Jeff Shaffer, KCI’s regional catalyst in Santa Barbara, believed that high school students should get involved with SAFE, to inspire them to take on this work later in life.

Through their new club, these students want to educate others about human trafficking, as well as create communities of love and belonging, providing spaces for students who may feel isolated and alone – a particularly vulnerable demographic to milking.

“We have people who have been doing this work forever in the county, and it’s exciting to see younger people getting more involved,” Peterson said.

Rowan mentioned that they had over 100 signatures to join their club and that during their first two meetings, with the help of faculty advisor Michael Thrasher, they taught their members about human trafficking. human beings and what SAFE does by getting involved. activities.

“It’s important to talk to younger people about this, especially because kids our age and not much younger than us are victims,” Rowan said.

Eventually, they want to expand to other high schools and middle schools in the county. But for now, they are continuing on their current path. This past Sunday, students attended a fundraising event for SAFE, where they had their own booth to talk about their club and meet potential speakers. Later in the year, Fox Wine Co. is hosting a fundraising event at its Funk Zone winery, where students have been offered the chance to set up a booth.

To learn more about SAFE and make a donation, visit safesbc.org.