Human Sex Trafficking | Programs | Survivor Stories | FAQ | Awards
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Journey Out recognizes that change is difficult and fraught with many dangers for those who are being sexually exploited. Each of our locations provide a safe place to discuss all of the issues related to exiting a life of abuse, violence, and poverty. We also discuss common challenges and ways to move forward from the experience and thrive.
The Journey Out Drop-In Center Program offers assistance to individuals seeking a way out of sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. Clients participate in survivor-led support groups including: Getting Out of The Life, Healing Through Art, and an Empowerment Group. At Journey Out, staff members meet clients “where they are,” utilizing best practice theories and intervention modalities of harm-reduction, trauma-informed treatment and the stages of change.
Our clients need more than support groups to exit a life of slavery and exploitation; they need support services. In response to those needs, we offer case management and referrals, survivor mentorship – giving peer-to-peer support and counseling, individual therapy and crisis counseling, GED tutoring and preparation, HIV testing and education, medical and vocational referrals, and meeting basic needs by providing food, clothing, hygiene products and condoms.
Journey Out offers the Prostitution Diversion Program (PDP) in collaboration with the Office of the Los Angeles City Attorney as an alternative to incarceration. Upon successful completion of the program, clients who have been charged with a prostitution-related offense are able to have those charges dismissed. The PDP program also provides access to desperately needed services. As with all our services, the PDP program is available for those who identify as LBGTQIA, women, and men.
ADDITIONAL LOCATIONS: Journey Out has a South Los Angeles Satellite Office where we offer our diversion program three times a week. Additionally, Journey Out offers our diversion program at APAIT (a nonprofit organization located near Koreatown) for clients who speak Korean, Mandarin, Thai, and Tagalog. APAIT offers professional translators that work collaboratively with our Survivor Group Facilitators to offer a culturally appropriate program.
Journey Out collaborates with law enforcement as victim advocates during police task force operations. During these operations, our crisis response case managers offer programs and services on the spot to victims. Journey Out has been involved in the FBI Innocence Lost Task Force operations locally and is known as the “go to” organization for law enforcement regarding victim advocacy and service provision for adult victims of sex trafficking.
In addition to their work with law enforcement, our crisis response team handles emergencies that arise after regular business hours. Their services range from securing emergency housing, family reunification services (coordinating travel, lodging, medical care, and other needs) for victims out of state, to crisis counseling and any other after hours support that clients need.
Journey Out works with youth in schools, group homes, community centers, and faith-based institutions to provide prevention curricula and ongoing prevention programming. These programs and workshops are designed to empower young people and educate them on the tactics that pimps and traffickers use to recruit victims into the commercial sex industry. To best address the evolving nature of sex trafficking recruitment, the programs have slightly different methodologies and approaches, with the same end goal: safeguarding youth against traffickers.
Word On the Street – Word On the Street helps safeguard young people against sex trafficking that occurs through online portals. Zeroing in on recruitment tactics and manipulation strategies that keep victims enmeshed in the Life, this curriculum is hyperfocused on trafficking within the context of media, social media, and the internet.
Ongoing Prevention Programming – Harnessing the credibility and power of young voices, our teen advocates co-create sex trafficking prevention education content with our Director of Communications to empower teens, parents, and educators about the realities of human trafficking in their own neighborhoods. Led by teens and for teens, the content ranges from warning signs and risk factors to exploring the links between trafficking and pop culture and how youth can take action.
Committed to serving victims where they are, Journey Out staff provide hygiene products, snacks, and information about our services directly along the prostitution tracks of Los Angeles. In addition to our contact information, we include resources for emergency shelters both within and outside of the state of California. Inside every outreach bag is a lipstick with our phone number. The label is discreet and easy to conceal from pimps and traffickers but also gives victims a lifeline.
Journey Out provides education to the public about issues of sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation, as well as specialized training for law enforcement and social service providers. We educate healthcare providers, legislators, businesses, religious institutions, transit and travel industry professionals, students, and the general community through workshops and forums around the country. Educating the public is an important aspect of prevention, intervention, and a holistic approach to address human trafficking at every level of recruitment, victimization, and recovery.