Youth Advocacy

The youth advocacy

The Youth Advocacy program

The Youth Advocacy program operates a 24/7 crisis hotline to provide support for trafficked youth ages 0-24. Our Youth Advocates respond when youth are in crisis and walk alongside them throughout the recovery process.
Advocates provide emotional support, assist youth in navigating community programs and services, and ensure that their voices are heard. Child and youth survivors of trafficking often interact with multiple systems, such as law enforcement, prosecutors, child protective services, and medical and mental health professionals, among others. This can be overwhelming for young survivors who are dealing with the trauma of their trafficking experience.
Youth Advocates are a single point of contact to assess the youth’s need for support and services. We collaborate with law enforcement, child welfare organizations, juvenile justice programs, and various service providers to ensure that the response to an identified victim is child-centered, trauma-informed, and coordinated for maximum effect and support for the child.
After the initial crisis response, Advocates continue to provide follow-up care and advocacy for the youth. This can include accompaniments (e.g. to court or hospital), counseling, education intervention, engagement activities, and ongoing safety planning and goal setting
The Landing’s Youth Advocacy Service

Our program include

Basic Needs & Resources

Case Management

Family Services

Emotional Support & Counseling

Legal Support

24/7 Crisis Response

The Youth Advocacy Program serves

Harris, Brazoria, Chambers, Waller, Galveston, Fort Bend, and Montgomery Counties.

YOUTH ADVOCACY HOTLINE NUMBER; (281) 645-0150

The Landing’s Youth Advocacy Program has served over 315 child and youth survivors of human trafficking since 2020.

The Landing uses trauma-informed, culturally competent care to foster a safe, healing environment for survivors of human trafficking. Using proven models, such as Trust-Based Relational Intervention and Motivational Interviewing, our Youth Advocates are able to effectively support and empower survivors on their journey.
The Landing uses “When I first came to The Landing, I wasn’t sure about the program. I don’t really open up to people, but my Advocate made me feel safe and heard.”
-Youth Client of The Landing
Transition Age Youth

Frequently Asked Questions

Trauma-informed care is an approach that recognizes and responds to the impact of trauma on individuals. It emphasizes creating a safe environment, understanding trauma symptoms, and integrating this awareness into all aspects of service delivery to support healing and recovery. For example, during an intake with new clients, The Landing does not require clients to divulge their entire history to prevent re traumatization as much as possible.

Another misconception is that human trafficking victims are only female. Men, boys, and transgender individuals can also be victims of human trafficking, forced into labor or sexual exploitation. The Landing serves survivors of all genders; 95% of our clients are women, and 5% are men.
Child Sex Trafficking – over 1/3 are boys 9national center of missing children)

Contrary to popular belief, human trafficking is rarely a sudden kidnapping. Instead, it’s frequently a gradual process known as grooming, which often occurs online, through phone communication, or from a family member or friend of the family. Traffickers manipulate their victims through trust-building and psychological coercion. Target vulnerability not demographic – low-self esteem, give compliments, restrictive household, offer freedom.
We often hear the belief that human trafficking victims are primarily foreign-born and forced into the sex trade through kidnapping. Most of the youth survivors we work with are domestic and are from the Greater Houston Area.

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