Los Angeles Official Urges City to Investigate Trafficked Homeless Youth

Homeless encampments line the street in Los Angeles on Jan 27, 2023. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

Los Angeles Councilwoman Traci Park recently urged city departments to take measures to investigate and provide updated data on human trafficking among homeless youth, citing a 2016 Loyola University New Orleans study that found 10 percent of homeless youth in L.A. are involved in trafficking.

Park, who represents the city’s 11th District, from the west side of the city to the Pacific Ocean, campaigned on ending human trafficking during her candidacy last year.

“In researching the issue with city partners, she saw there was a need to address youth trafficking,” a spokesperson from her office told The Epoch Times.

This sparked her request to two city departments—the Community Investment for Families Department in coordination with the Office of the Chief of Legislative Analysis—to provide up-to-date information and possible solutions.

There are more than 9,100 homeless youth and children in Los Angeles County, according to statistics released by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority in September.

Los Angeles Councilwoman Traci Park speaks with members of the community. Courtesy of Traci Park

Park’s motion (pdf), presented to the city council during the council’s Feb. 14 meeting, will allow officials to “have an informed response,” said Park’s office, since the Loyola study was published more than five years ago.

Loyola University’s study (pdf), conducted in 10 major cities in the U.S. and Canada, found that among homeless youth aged 17 to 25 in Los Angeles, 25 percent engage in commercial sex and others trade sex for rent or other accommodation.

The study noted that young homeless people who are looking for work are “also susceptible to predators posing as legitimate employers who lure them into unpaid work in magazine sales, domestic service, fraudulent commission-based sales, pyramid schemes, modeling, acting, and other seemingly promising scams.”

They are often targeted through online job sites, social media, or in public places like bus stops and transportation stations, and at government assistance offices, according to the study.

Park’s proposal came one week before officials in San Diego disclosed that a monthlong investigation aimed at uncovering cases of human trafficking and sexual exploitation in two cities within San Diego County led to the arrest of 48 individuals. A total of 16 individuals are believed to have been trafficked, and among them were eight children.

A young woman stands in an area of Los Angeles known for prostitution on Feb. 8, 2023. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

“We cannot turn a blind eye to human trafficking among our homeless youth,” Park said in a statement. “Our action will address this scourge with the urgency that’s required so that we can identify its scope and prevent youth trafficking from occurring in the first place.”

The Loyola study also found that a significant proportion of homeless youth from all major cities have been subjected to other forms of exploitation.

Specifically, 81 percent have been forced to sell drugs, while 19 percent have been coerced into exchanging sex for basic necessities such as food and shelter. Moreover, 18 percent of victims have a history of being in foster care, indicating that those who have already faced significant challenges in their lives are particularly vulnerable to trafficking.

“Homeless youth are vulnerable to both sex and labor trafficking because they tend to experience a higher rate of the primary risk factors to trafficking: poverty, unemployment, a history of sexual abuse, and a history of mental health issues. If they have families who are involved in the commercial sex trade or gangs, their risk is even higher,” the Loyola University study read.

Currently, other efforts are also underway in L.A. to combat trafficking. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority has implemented several initiatives, including the Youth Family Reconnection Program and the Host Homes Program, to help youth reconnect with family and find housing.

According to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services in February, one in five homeless youth in California have been victimized by some form of trafficking, with 14 percent victims of sex trafficking and eight percent subjected to labor trafficking. Approximately three percent of homeless youth have suffered from both forms of trafficking.

“When youth are unhoused or in unstable living situations, they are often forced into situations to meet their basic needs. They are at higher risk of trafficking and other crimes because of the lack of safe and caring housing,” Megan Healy of the department said in a statement. “When our youth do not have even their most basic needs being met, let alone being fulfilled, predators often find them.”