All About SI Simi Valley Anti-Trafficking Efforts

Every January, we host our annual STOP! Human Trafficking public awareness community event, which typically draws some 350 community members.  We seek to educate, raise awareness, and provide a call to action for those who would like to get involved in the mission  to end trafficking.  Our community partners include our police department, sheriff’s department, fire department,, our county District Attorney’s office, the City of Simi Valley including the City Council, Adventist Health Simi Valley, and the Ventura County Task Force on Human Trafficking.

 

In January 2025, our club will be hosting a traveling interactive and multi-media museum exhibit, The Apathy Effect.  The Apathy Effect immerses its audience in international stories of resilient young survivors of human trafficking and the response of everyday people who were ignited with empathy when confronted by exploitation and the apathy that fuels it.  Our program in 2025 will include training for first responders and healthcare  professionals on human trafficking.

 

Other projects have included supporting the tattoo removal clinic at the Simi Valley Free Clinic, where tattoos branded on trafficking survivors are removed.  We have participated  in The Soap Project, where our club distributed soap bars with a red bands giving the National Human Trafficking Hotline Number  to local motels and hotels to place in their bathrooms.  Our club is also a partner with the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office and active in their efforts to bring a Family Justice Center to the east end of Ventura County.