National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month – January It’s National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month! We at Hope Rising, along with other agencies and communities in the Houston area, work hard to ensure a happy ending for children and youth who have fallen victim to sex trafficking. Though it may be hard to believe, sex trafficking is not just a third world issue. It’s a here and now issue. It’s in our own backyards. In honor of National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, we wanted to give you a few facts about sex trafficking, so you, too, can join the fight against trafficking! What is sex trafficking? Sex trafficking is the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some form of sexual act. Where does sex trafficking happen? Houston and Las Angeles flip back and forth between being the biggest hot spots for sex trafficking in the US. Who are the victims? On a global scale, 25% of victims are children and the average age of child victims is between 12-14. What can I do to help? Educate yourself! Spread awareness! Find an agency to work with or volunteer with. Or, if you want, reach out directly to us! We would love to hear from you! (fb)

This Holiday season we are blessed to have the support of our donors and foundations that help us continue to promote hope and healing for the youths in our program. @bellaluna.texaschildrens generously donated non-perishable boxes at Thanksgiving to accompany gift cards donated by @central_market . We hosted our Christmas party Dec. 4th where Santa made an appearance. @bellaluna.texaschildrens generously collected gifts for our youths that we were able to distribute at our party. Christmas time is the season of giving and helping others, during our party we assembled activity bags to donate to a children’s hospital to spread joy and well wishes. (fb)