In the News

“All our silences in the face of racist assault are acts of complicity.” - bell hooks We are outraged by the murder of another Black person by law enforcement and we mourn the loss of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and all of our brothers and sisters at the...

My name is Raymundo. I was recruited from Mexico to work on a farm in California. I was promised that my work would be legal and that I would be paid $11.10 an hour for at least forty hours of work per week. I was happy to start working and...

(LOS ANGELES, CA) – Today, the California Victim Compensation Board (CalVCB) adopted final regulations to implement AB 629 (Smith/Gonzalez), which went into effect January 1, 2020, and provides human trafficking survivors the ability to recover lost income benefits like other crime victims in the state. Due to the leadership of...

Cast sat down with Legal Services Director, Nagwa Ibrahim, to answer the hard questions about human trafficking and the coronavirus. How is your team responding to the pandemic and the current climate? Since human trafficking does not stop because of a pandemic, our team continues to operate a 24-hour emergency...

Cast's Emergency Response Program Manager, Leigh LaChapelle, pens an open letter to our community partners in change and human trafficking victims. Dear Community Partner, We at Cast want to update our community about our services and the steps we have taken to protect our clients and staff during COVID-19. Cast...

(LOS ANGELES, CA) – Today, the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (Cast) released the following statement in response to Governor Newsom’s coronavirus-related announcement: “We applaud Governor Newsom for his commitment to at-risk youth, particularly foster children, during the pandemic. However, this narrowly focused investment will not adequately protect all...

We regret to inform you that we are postponing our annual, “From Slavery to Freedom” gala  - our most important fundraising event of the year that raises funds to ensure the safety and well-being of survivors of human trafficking.  We are now confronting a $750K shortfall while facing the increasing...

If the coronavirus pandemic has revealed anything, it is the stark inequalities vulnerable people endure. Faced with barriers to accessing care that will protect them and their families, human trafficking survivors are looking to Cast as their only resource. As a first responder, Cast is working around the clock to...

LA: EnterpRISE will provide career and financial literacy training and access to startup funding opportunities  LOS ANGELES — Mayor Eric Garcetti today announced the creation of LA: EnterpRISE, a pilot program to drive entrepreneurship opportunities for Angelenos experiencing housing insecurity or homelessness.   “Every Angeleno should have a chance to nurture their...

Bill Would Provide Post-Conviction Relief to Victims of Sex Trafficking, Labor Trafficking, and Other Forms of Human Trafficking Washington, DC –U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), today announced bipartisan legislation, the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act of 2020, which would clear the federal criminal records of the survivors of...

Call of California to revise SB477 Thousands of temporary workers are being trafficked into forced labor in California under threat of violence, deportation, and harm to their families.  California attracts more temporary foreign workers than anywhere else in the US. As the fifth largest global economy, workers on lawful visas from all over the world seek...

The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Friday to require certain businesses to post contact information for people to report human trafficking. The notices will have information such as a human trafficking hotline number. The businesses that will be required to post the information include adult or “sexually oriented businesses,”...

Shutterstock Betsy Hutson met Kendra Ross at a specialized aftercare shelter for human trafficking survivors in 2015, a few years after she escaped from The Value Creators Inc., a nationwide cult formerly known as the United Nation of Islam. “Right off the bat, Kendra was interested in taking down her...

California Assembly Members Miguel Santiago (D-53rd), Mike Gipson (D-64th),  Blanca Rubio (D-48th), and Senator Henry Stern (D-27th) introduce comprehensive legislation and budget proposals to ensure California enacts better measures to prevent human trafficking. Los Angeles, California -  The Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (Cast) is proud to sponsor two...

The Center for Violence Prevention and Recovery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) has launched a new initiative to assist and support individuals exploited through sex and labor trafficking in collaboration with the Center for Community Health and Health Equity’s Violence Intervention and Prevention Programs at Brigham and Women’s...

Labor trafficking victim Renuka Zellars of San Diego, center, testifies in front of the Little Hoover Commission panel on Nov. 21 at the San Diego Central Library. The other witnesses are Angela Guanzon, left, who was trafficked as a caregiver, and Jamie Beck, right, an attorney with Free to Thrive.(PhotoArt...

Labor trafficking survivors have long made up a significant number of people trafficked in California and the U.S. As a hidden epidemic, labor trafficking is prevalent in our neighborhoods, cities and rural communities, and economies. Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (Cast) has joined forces with the Little Hoover Commission...

California’s Governor Newsom has signed a groundbreaking bill into law enabling human trafficking survivors to receive lost income from California’s Crime Victim Compensation Fund (VCP). A first of its kind bill, AB 629 ensures that survivors will be empowered with resources to rebuild their lives.  “Cast applauds Governor Newsom for...

The Los Angeles-based Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (Cast) has been named the 2019 National Award Winner of the Mutual of America Community Partnership Award. The Mutual of America Community Partnership Award recognizes outstanding nonprofit organizations in the United States that have shown exemplary leadership by facilitating partnerships with...

SACRAMENTO, CA — Assemblywoman Christy Smith (D-Santa Clarita) is pleased to announce that her Assembly Bill (AB) 629 was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom this week as part of the package of bills he signed addressing public safety and supporting victims of crime. The bill creates parity within California’s Victim Compensation Program (VCP)...