Internet-savvy pimps are using social media to recruit young girls who have been left dislocated or economically vulnerable by the pandemic, according to a New York City detective. Lt. Amy Caponga of the New York Police Department (NYPD) sex trafficking team says social media is also being used to controlContinue Reading
COLORADO SPRINGS — A local homeless shelter is making it clear they’re not letting COVID-19 keep people from staying warm, and alive during this week’s frigid weather. When they see a forecast like this week’s, leaders at Springs Rescue Mission know, it’s go time. “We go.. okay… we gotta getContinue Reading
PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – In March, the founder of The Homeless Voice, a South Florida newspaper about homelessness, took his vendors off the streets because of COVID-19. Sean Cononie said they just got back to selling and collecting in September. Now, he is curbing them again because of the safetyContinue Reading
The thin walls of Neville Riley’s makeshift tent don’t do much to block the constant sound of passing cars and trains. Key points: While thousands of rough sleepers were housed in hotels in other states, WA wound back its response when it averted more COVID-19 outbreaks In Perth, just 24Continue Reading
“During COVID-19, my daddy, George Floyd, changed the world.” With those words, 7-year-old Gianna Floyd, whose father died at the hands of Minneapolis police on May 25, wrapped up her essay about life during a pandemic. “When I go out, I now have to always wear my mask, use handContinue Reading
The federal sex-trafficking trial of Dr. Albert Aiad-Toss, 52, of Canfield, will not take place Monday as scheduled after he asked the court during a pretrial hearing to postpone it. No new trial date is set. Aiad-Toss asked to be allowed to represent himself in his trial, but also askedContinue Reading
In a year defined by the coronavirus, a Bastrop County residential treatment facility for child sex trafficking survivors has adapted both its daily operations and the way it reaches potential donors and informs the public of its mission. Steven Phenix, the director of communications for Refuge Ranch, said even inContinue Reading
Callista Gingrich, the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, speaks Oct. 14 at “Combating Human Trafficking: Action in a Time of Crisis,” a symposium sponsored by the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See and held at the International Union of Superiors General in Rome. (Courtesy of the U.S. Embassy toContinue Reading
This is Part 1 of this series. Read Part 2 here. Fourteen months ago, she escaped the grips of addiction, exploitation and her pimp, but the road since then hasn’t been easy — especially in light of a global pandemic. “I’m not going to lie, there [are] days where IContinue Reading
We’re making this important information about the pandemic available without a subscription as a public service. But we depend on reader support to do this work. Please consider joining others in supporting independent journalism in Alaska for just $3.23 a week. Officials with the federal Centers for Disease Control andContinue Reading