There are many reasons and ways someone can end up on the streets, with no home. Many of them are not fault of the individual on the streets, and yet, we tend to look at a homeless adult and see someone responsible for their own decisions.
In many instances, these people became homeless as child runaways. Some escaping violence, abuse, some lost children, the truth is that many children who end up on the streets or attempt to escape bad home situations are trafficked, or forced into trafficking.
The incidence of such is higher than one would think, and there is a relationship between those escaping trafficking and ending up without a pace to live.
In a study of homeless youth conducted by the Covenant House, nearly one in five (19.4%) of the 911 interviewed youth were victims of human trafficking, with 15% having been trafficked for sex, 7.4% trafficked for labor and 3% trafficked for both.
Those are big numbers. There are several issues we need to tackle as human beings, so many leaving people defenseless, resourceless and with no place to go. Next time you look at a homeless person and assume anything about personal responsibility or how they ended up where they are, assume the other way as well...we never know what we would do when faced with decisions they may have been forced to make.
For some information about the relationship between homelessness and trafficking in youth:
https://www.covenanthouse.org/homeless-issues/human-trafficking-study
For some information on what to do should you encounter someone you think may be a victim of trafficking, PLEASE check the link below for what to do and how you can help to save a life:
https://www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign/identify-victim?utm_source=google.com&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=rg.search-fy20.states-traffic_OR&utm_content=trafficking&utm_term=human%20trafficking
When possible, always choose compassion.
Daphnie Williams
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