Greetings Street Survivors, as we continue our series, “Experts in the Field.” Our first expert, School Resource Officer Michael Thomas with the Laurens County Sheriff’s office, offered us some excellent tips for improving the security of our children, both on and off school property. 

Today we’re taking on one of the most dangerous threats to both children and adults here in the Upstate, and dollars to donuts, you may not know anything about it ! This subject is so important and deadly, we will break it up into several consecutive articles. Part 1 is our definition and introduction to Human Sex Trafficking in the Upstate. 

First, let me introduce you to SWITCH, a grassroots organization started in 2012 and leading the movement to end sex trafficking and sexual exploitation in the Upstate of South Carolina. According to SWITCH, the most common definition for Sex trafficking is “the commercial sexual exploitation of women and children. Boys and men are also at risk of being trafficked, albeit for different reasons. According to an International Labor Organization report on forced labor published in 2014, commercial sexual exploitation accounted for two-thirds of the profits from forced labor (Kelly, 2019). A common myth is that all sex trafficking victims are poor and uneducated. Victims can be found from any community, and they can be of any age, race, gender, or nationality.” 

Why is this problem so bad here in the Upstate? This is one of the questions I asked the Acting Executive Director and Board Chair at SWITCH, Curtis Harper. One of the major reasons is, the disposable income of the local community. If the demand is high and the financial resources are available, the problem gets way worse. Also, as more people are moving here from across the U.S., the demand will likely grow, and the vicious cycle continues.

Another very surprising fact is that most of the victims of this horrible crime, are from this area, and stay in this area, they are not moved to other locations, or brought in from other cities. This is not the case in all cities, but it seems to be the case here.

What can SWITCH and other similar organizations do to combat it?  SWITCH has a multi-pronged attack to combat this disgusting practice beginning with AWARENESS. Educating community members and agencies on how to recognize red flags for human trafficking, how to report suspected human trafficking cases, and how to respond with appropriate resources to individuals who have experienced sexual exploitation. In just over one decade SWITCH has trained over 30,000 members of the community, 46 local agencies have been trained, and most importantly over 450 victims have been impacted through their intervention and restoration programs!

The Five Pillars that SWITCH follows are Awareness, Prevention, Demand, Intervention and Restoration. More on this in our follow-up articles.

How can our Street Survival community help fight this deadly problem? There are several great ways for us to join in the fight to destroy this horrible enemy living right here in our community. 

1) Spread the word by requesting SWITCH to present their program to your church, business, or social group.

2) Volunteer to use your talents in some way to rescue and save lives caught up in this deadly trap.

3) Donate to the cause with your time, talent and resources.

How can you get more information about local and national resources on this subject? There is a ton of excellent information on the SWITCH website which is: www.switchSC.org, and they have a local phone number, 888-773-4218. The national website is: www.humantraffickinghotline.com and their direct number, 888-373-7888 is manned 24/7.

To help raise your awareness about this problem with people that you may know, look for these red flags, especially in young children12-14, and young teenagers. If you see their grades dropping off quickly, they seem much more depressed than normal, sneaking out at night without telling you, if they have an expensive gift with no explanation of where it came from or who gave it to them, multiple cell phones, or a young girl dating a much older boyfriend, you could be witnessing the grooming process of gaining their trust with gifts, etc. before they get manipulated and threatened into some lifestyle choices they do NOT want!

SWITCH will be hosting a local golf tournament to help raise awareness and fundraising at the Preserve@Verdae, on May 1st, at 9:00 A.M. They are looking for golf teams, as well as banquet, breakfast and hole sponsors. This is a great way to literally help your community. The QR code in the photo should get you linked in.

Stay safe out there, Street Survivors!

Rick ‘Pirate Hunter’ Grover strongly believes we are all in this together, and the more we learn and train, the better we will be prepared for any eventuality. This makes all of us part of an amazing neighborhood team of American Patriots. 

God Bless America!

Drop us a comment or question at Email: StreeTactics@gmail.com  ♣