KTGPA
St. Mark Priory Child Trafficking Ministry Overview
Our Mission:
The Priory of St. Mark Florida has identified that one of the biggest threats to our young people today is Child trafficking. Child trafficking has grown into a worldwide problem and a very serious threat in our own backyard, Florida.
Because of this growing problem our Priory decided to embark on a ministry that offers awareness through information to guardians, young adults and children of different ages.
Our Goal:
We want to bring awareness of the risk factors and offer ways to counteract them. By identification and building proactive factors we can help to prevent youth from explorative and trafficking situations. The first step in building proactive factors is by engaging with youth and their peers, community, and by serving as a trusted adult source in their lives.
Some additional ways to increase protective factors among youth include:
Talk about being taken advantage of and what that looks like.
Build self esteem by helping youth recognize their capacity, potential, and interests.
Foster and encourage youth to build strong relationships with friends, family, peers, neighbors, and community members.
Encourage youth to seek help from a trusted adult or community resource if they are experiencing exploitation or any other form of hardship.
Make aware to youth that there are people like you who will advocate for them if they find themselves in an exploitive situation and need help. They may feel shame or guilt about what they have been forced to do often by manipulation of their trafficker and may fear how their family or law enforcement may view them and react.
Build a sense of pride in who they are and what they mean to others.
Talk about characteristics of healthy relationships and the “RED FLAGS” for abuse.
Talk about safe internet use.
Make aware of the international hand signals for help. (ILLUSTRATION).
Practice Safety: The internet
Keep personal information private.
Set profiles to private.
Don’t accept friend requests from someone you don’t know.
Don’t share personal photos with those you don’t know.
Don’t meet up with a person that you don’t know that you met online.
Do your research on job offers that sound “too good to be True”.
If someone is not who they seem to be or you think you are being lured, tell a trusted adult.
Trust your instincts. If a conversation feels wrong, stop the conversation and block the profile.
Beware of:
The need to fit in with a group at all costs.
A controlling partner or a friend.
Allowing too much freedom for kids to do what they want.
Too much work during school.
Allowing violence in a relationship.
Obligation of sex in a relationship.
How To Report:
FIRST Call 911 or local law enforcement.
Do not confront a suspicious trafficker directly.
CALL 866.347.2423 to report suspicious criminal activity to Dept. of Homeland Security.
Call 888.373.7888 or TEXT…..HELP for the National Human Trafficking Hot Line.
Closing:
St. Mark Priory is dedicated to bringing this awareness Ministry to everyone in this country and around the world. We want to make sure that everyone hears “OUR KIDS ARE NOT FOR SALE”.
God Bless!