Community Coalition Against Human Trafficking

THE COMMUNITY COALITION AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING (CCAHT) PROPOSES THE CURRENT PROJECT TO IMPROVE THE SAFETY, SECURITY, AND HEALING OF MINORS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED SEX OR LABOR TRAFFICKING BY INCREASING CAPACITY AND SPECIALIZATION OF WRAPAROUND SUPPORT SERVICES AVAILABLE TO YOUTH AND THEIR SUPPORT SYSTEM. SURVIVOR-CENTERED CARE MEANS WORKING WITH THE SURVIVOR AS WELL AS THE SUPPORT SYSTEM. THIS IS ESPECIALLY CRUCIAL WHEN WORKING WITH MINOR VICTIMS. THE CCAHT WORKS ON BEHALF OF MINOR VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING BY COLLABORATING WITHIN THE SYSTEMS IN WHICH THEY ARE INHERENTLY PART OFFAMILIES, FOSTER HOMES, CHILD WELFARE, KINSHIP PLACEMENT, EDUCATION, JUVENILE JUSTICE, ETC. CCAHT SUPPORT STAFF AMPLIFY YOUTH VOICE AND ENSURE TRAUMA-INFORMED, DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE, AND CULTURALLY RELEVANT CARE WHEN NAVIGATING WITHIN EACH OF THESE SYSTEMS. THE DEVELOPMENTAL TASKS OF YOUTH AND ADOLESCENCE PRODUCE VULNERABILITIES EASILY TARGETED BY TRAFFICKERS, SUCH AS IMPULSIVITY AND THE BIOLOGICAL COMPULSION TO CULTIVATE A SENSE OF BELONGING OUTSIDE OF THE FAMILY OF ORIGIN. CONSEQUENTLY, THE HARMFUL EFFECTS OF TRAFFICKING WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT PRODUCE FRAGILITIES THAT, IF NOT SUFFICIENTLY TENDED TO, WILL HAVE PROFOUND IMPACT ON LIFELONG WELL-BEING. THE CCAHT RECOGNIZES THAT IN ORDER TO DISRUPT THE CYCLE OF VIOLENCE AND VICTIMIZATION, IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOUTH WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED TRAFFICKING HAVE UNINHIBITED ACCESS TO SPECIALIZED THERAPEUTIC SUPPORT AND COMPREHENSIVE CARE THROUGH COMPETENT, KNOWLEDGEABLE PROVIDERS. THE CURRENT PROJECT WILL ENABLE THIS BY INCREASING CCAHT CAPACITY TO MEET THE GROWING DEMAND OF NEW REFERRALS AND EXPANDING THE SCOPE OF SERVICES AVAILABLE TO YOUTH TO SUPPORT THEIR SUCCESSFUL NAVIGATION THROUGH THE SYSTEMS THEY ARE A PART OF. THE CCAHT WILL BOLSTER YOUTH RESILIENCY BY FOSTERING OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEW SOCIAL CONNECTIONS AND EXPERIENCES, AND BY EQUIPPING CARE GIVER CAPACITY TO RESPOND TO THE NEEDS OF TRAFFICKED YOUTH. IN SO DOING, YOUTH WILL LEARN THE COPING SKILLS TO MANAGE THE EFFECTS OF THEIR TRAUMA IN A SAFE AND RESPONSIVE ENVIRONMENT, EXPERIENCE GREATER SUCCESS IN PERMANENCY PLACEMENTS, AND ENHANCE POSITIVE OUTCOMES THROUGHOUT THE LIFESPAN. AS PART OF THE TENNESSEE COUNTER-TRAFFICKING ALLIANCE, THE CCAHT IS UNIQUELY POSITIONED TO ENHANCE ANTI-TRAFFICKING EFFORTS BY LEVERAGING EXISTING PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS THROUGHOUT THE STATE, MAXIMIZING THE IMPACT AND REACH OF THIS PROJECT.

THROUGH FOUNDATIONS, THE COMMUNITY COALITION AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING (CCAHT) WILL EQUIP EAST TENNESSEE WITH VETTED TOOLS TO REDUCE TRAFFICKING AND EXPLOITATION OF YOUNG GIRLS BY FORMULIZING A THOROUGH AND ROBUST TRAINING AND AWARENESS CAMPAIGN AND ENGAGING YOUTH IN CAREFULLY CURATED INTERVENTION CURRICULA THAT TARGETS VULNERABILITIES AND INCREASES RESILIENCY. FOUNDATIONS IS AN ORGANIC EXPANSION OF THE DEMONSTRATED SUCCESS IN BOTH SECONDARY AND TERTIARY YOUTH TRAFFICKING INTERVENTION EFFORTS FACILITATED BY THE CCAHT SINCE 2017, ESTABLISHING THE CCAHT AS A LEADER IN EAST TENNESSEE FOR EFFECTIVE AND COMPETENT SURVIVOR SUPPORT. ANNUALLY THROUGHOUT THIS PROJECT, FOUNDATIONS WILL EXPAND PRIMARY INTERVENTION SERVICES TO 65 NEW YOUTH BETWEEN THE AGES OF 12-17 BY ESTABLISHING DIRECT COLLABORATION WITH 5 NEW YOUTH-SERVING AGENCIES AND CONTINUING TO BUILD IN-ROADS WITH LARGER REGIONAL YOUTH-SERVING INSTITUTIONS TO IMPROVE POLICY REGARDING YOUTH SUPPORT AND INTERVENTION. THE CCAHT WILL LEVERAGE ITS STATUS AS A REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE TENNESSEE COUNTER-TRAFFICKING ALLIANCE (TCTA) TO CREATE A SOLID FOUNDATION FOR EXPANDING THE SUCCESS OF FOUNDATIONS ACROSS THE STATE, CREATING THE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN INTERVENTION CAMPAIGN THAT CAN BE IMPLEMENTED ACROSS ANY COMMUNITY. BY TARGETING LOCALIZED YOUTH-SERVING AGENCIES, THE CCAHT WILL INCREASE ACCESS TO PEER-BASED LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS AND PROLIFERATE DIVERSITY AMONG PARTICIPANTS THROUGH POINTED COLLABORATION EFFORTS WITH AGENCIES SERVING MARGINALIZED POPULATIONS. EARLY IN THE FOUNDATIONS PROJECT, THE CCAHT WILL ESTABLISH TANGIBLE TOOLS THAT ARE EASILY DISTRIBUTED AMONG YOUTH-SERVICE PROVIDERS TO INCREASE FACT-BASED AWARENESS OF YOUTH EXPLOITATION AND PROVIDE INFORMATION FOR ACCESSIBILITY OF SUPPORT SERVICES. THESE TOOLS WILL BE AVAILABLE IN BOTH A PROFESSIONAL AND YOUTH-FRIENDLY FORMAT TO MAXIMIZE YOUTH ENGAGEMENT AS PART OF THE SHARED DECISION-MAKING PROCESS FOR OPTING INTO INTERVENTION SERVICES. BY THE END OF THIS PROJECT, THE CCAHT WILL EXPAND OPPORTUNITIES FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF YOUTH-SERVING ENTITIES THROUGH ACTIVE INCORPORATION OF PRACTICE-BASED EXPERIENCE AND EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES, YOUTH VOICE, PROFESSIONAL APPLICATION, AND COLLABORATIVE ENGAGEMENT IN PEER TO PEER WORKGROUP COLLABORATIONS. GLOBALLY, FOUNDATIONS OPERATES USING A KNOWLEDGE-IS-POWER PHILOSOPHY THAT OFFERS TRANSPARENCY AND DEMONSTRABLE EXPERTISE OF PREVENTION AND EARLY INTERVENTION EFFORTS AGAINST YOUTH EXPLOITATION, WITHOUT EXCEPTION.