The Anti-Human Trafficking Club hosted the “Breaking the Chains” Event at Kingsmen Park on Wednesday, Feb. 26. The first 200 students received free In-N-Out Burger, including a burger, a bag of chips, and a drink.
Helen Lim, a professor of criminology & criminal justice, said that the event’s goal was to raise awareness of human trafficking and provide resources to the Ventura community.
“Today’s event was sponsored, was fully sponsored by the Anti-Human Trafficking Club, where they secured funds to support 200 free meals to help educate and spread awareness on human trafficking,” Lim said.
The Anti-Human Trafficking Club invited a number of organizations to attend the event, including the Ventura County Human Trafficking Task Force and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.
The event included trivia around facts tied to human trafficking and other crimes.
“We need to educate and spread awareness that human trafficking is present in Ventura County. It’s in every state, and it’s across the globe,” Lim said.
According to Lim, the Anti-Human Trafficking Club officers – Sadie Rico, Estephani Solares, Daniel Burgos, Samantha Cabral, and Isabella Ramirez – deserve all the praise.
Estephani Solares, vice president of the Anti-Human Trafficking Club, said she was happy with the event’s turnout and was grateful for all her club officers.
“I’m really proud of all the work that we did. Marketing two weeks in advance, two weeks before the event, was crazy cause we wanted to do it at least a month in advance. I’m really happy that we were able to do it,” Solares said.
California Lutheran University alumna Stephanie Nava said she founded the club during her senior year in the spring of 2023. Nava currently works as a lead specialist at Interface, where she runs family services for the Ventura County Human Trafficking Task Force.
“What inspired me to start this club was after my internship with Forever Found. I interned with them for about seven months, and after that internship, I had learned the foundation of what human trafficking is,” Nava said. “I realized that there was not enough awareness on campus here at Cal Lutheran, and so I was inspired to bring that awareness to Cal Lutheran.”
Nava said she started the club to spread awareness and to help people and victims, with her goal being to break the misconceptions on this issue and properly educate people on the truth regarding human trafficking.
“The education portion around it is very important because, again, here in Ventura County, we have identified victims in every single city, and so there is also many misconceptions around human trafficking,” Nava said.
Solares said the event attendees were encouraged to wear blue, which is typically the color used to show support for victims of human trafficking.
“The color blue shows solidarity with victims of human trafficking and the commitment to ending this crime,” Solares said.
Junior Kenda Khatter said she attended the event because she is interested in volunteering in a similar organization to those in attendance. She said she thought it would be a good idea to speak to the guests at the event to learn more.
“Everyone at the booths were willing to give information. I got a lot of resources and a lot of different forms. Everyone was super friendly,” Khatter said.
Senior Katie Adams said she came to the event to support club advisor Lim, and because she is involved in the criminal justice department.
“I think it’s a very sick crime, and I appreciate that the school has a club to raise awareness about the issue,” Adams said.
Nava shared that there is a human trafficking hotline available to anyone who is experiencing, has experienced, or knows someone who is experiencing human trafficking, and that number is 1-800-636-6738.
“As a community, we are, we all have a role to play. And again, just keeping in mind that human trafficking does happen in plain sight, and so again, we just really have that role of educating ourselves and continuing to share that information with those around us,” Nava said.
