The Dressember Network: Looking Upstream to Vulnerable Youth
*Kayla, an 11-year-old daughter of a single, working mother, experienced severe childhood trauma which led her to seek attention from men she met on social media. After Kayla drove her mother’s car to meet one such man with her little sister, the girls were placed with a relative caregiver. To ease the transition, Kayla was connected to Operation Independence, a program within the Dressember Network that provides outreach and support to vulnerable youth. With this support, Kayla has become involved with soccer, has been able to set goals to improve her self-esteem and self-confidence, and now looks forward to a week-long summer camp and playing basketball.
Remarkably, Kayla’s story is familiar within the Dressember Network.
The impact made possible through the Dressember community is dynamic and powerful, particularly in the lives of vulnerable youth. Keep reading for a roundup of the support and resources we’ve provided in the last year for vulnerable youth victims and survivors around the world.
Through the Dressember Network, Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) Awareness Training is made possible. Through this training, we are decreasing the likelihood of sexual exploitation for children in vulnerable situations. This year, resources were used specifically to target trafficking prevention and treatment services, with a strong focus on emancipating and transitioning foster youth (ages 12-24) living across southern California. The CSEC Training includes Independent Living Skills classes and curriculum as well as annual training during Teen Violence Awareness Month.
The weekly Independent Living Skills classes, provided for 24-36 months for 18-24-year-olds, include information on financial, educational, and holistic needs to ensure that youth can successfully transition to independence. These classes prevent homelessness, promote independence, and help to protect against vulnerability to trafficking. An estimated 20-25% of emancipating and transitioning foster youth served through this program are also referred to a human trafficking and trauma-informed therapist to offer support and assistance throughout the healing process.
The Dressember Network also supports youth ages 11-25 who are experiencing homelessness and are at risk of sexual exploitation. Through the Dressember Network, thousands of runaway and homeless youth in the last year were assisted with basic needs, shelter, housing, and offered other prevention services.
One of our partner programs focuses on serving those who are traditionally underserved, including survivors who are male, transgender, homeless/runaway, or LGBTQ+. Through the program, 100% of those served expanded their support networks with individualized support from advocates. 81% further expanded their support networks by connecting with new resources for long-term stability and achieving their goals. 90% of those served created actionable safety plans and improved their overall safety.
Additionally, the Dressember Network provides trauma-informed case management, therapy, and court advocacy for LGBTQ+ identifying youth. This year, our Dressember Network partner provided 187 instances of criminal justice support and advocacy, 2,059 instances of support and counseling for individuals, 140 instances of group therapy, 48 instances of non-traditional therapeutic interventions, 17 crisis interventions, 238 transportations, and 214 instances of interagency advocacy. 26 kids were served with the “Ignite a Passion Summer Program,” which supported children ages 13-17 through skills-based workshops, career caravans, and hands-on experiences. Dressember also supported graduating youth with college and scholarship applications and awarded $500 scholarships to youth who started college in August.
Through promoting self-esteem for LGBTQ+ identifying youth, Dressember supports vulnerable youth and prevents human trafficking.
The Dressember Network also provides resources and scholarships to empower at-risk students in rural Thailand to stay in school, achieve their dreams, and break the cycle of exploitation and poverty.
Over the last year, Dressember supported this program to provide 501 home visits and 1,489 instances of mentorship to students and their families. Over the last year, there was also a 66% increase in scholarship students in the Education Program. The support offered by this program provides at-risk students with psychological resources as well as access to education, development opportunities, and supportive relationships. 10 students graduated from the program this year and have chosen to pursue higher education, which will help them to be even better equipped to avoid falling into a trafficking situation. In response to COVID-19, our partner provided 500 COVID-19 relief packages and helped migrant children to file paperwork to obtain Thai citizenship. The first group of students is expected to receive government IDs in the spring of 2022.
One student in particular who benefited from Dressember Network support was Som. After Som’s father died, her mother had to ask her children to go to work to make ends meet. Som was at high risk of entering into a trafficking situation. However, someone at her church introduced her and her family to Dressember’s local partner. She received scholarship funding to attend the top high school in Chiang Rai and was able to develop her self-confidence through her education. During the COVID-19 pandemic, as her family struggled financially, Our partner supported her family by helping them to begin raising chickens for sale. In turn, Som’s mother was also able to develop a greater self-confidence which has empowered her to develop her skills to become a leader in her church and community alongside her daughter.
Som dreams today of studying abroad in the United States or becoming an au pair, opportunities that would not otherwise have been open to her.
This year, the Dressember Network has succeeded in serving vulnerable youth from all walks of life. People like Som and Kayla remind us of the importance of the valuable services we are able to provide with the shared notion that it’s (a lot) bigger than a dress.
The Dressember Network is made up of 20 organizations that support programs in the following impact areas: advocacy, prevention, intervention, and survivor empowerment. The Dressember Network partners with The Freedom Story, an organization that provides resources and scholarships to empower at-risk students to stay in school, achieve their dreams, and break the cycle of exploitation and poverty. In Wisconsin, we partner with Pathfinders, a local agency-led homeless outreach and support program focused on youth ages 11-25 who are experiencing homelessness and are at risk of sexual exploitation. In Georgia, we partner with youthSpark, an organization that provides trauma-informed case management, therapy, and court advocacy for LGBTQ+ identifying youth. Throughout southern California, we partner with Olive Crest to make Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) Training possible. When you support Dressember, you help dismantle trafficking holistically and in a way that prioritizes survivor needs and voices. Ready to join us? Register to become an advocate or make a donation today.
*Pseudonym used to protect the survivor’s identity
About the Author
Miranda Cecil is a second-year at Northeastern University School of Law. She graduated from the University of North Carolina in 2020 (go heels!) and shipped up to Boston. As a North Carolina transplant in New England, she loves exploring her new area on the weekends. In her free time, she enjoys cross-stitching, cycling, and reading. She hopes to use her legal degree and a passion for urban development to continue advocating for human trafficking survivors (and, despite the Boston winter, looks forward to the style challenge this December).