In the News

The Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (Cast) was awarded $3.54 million from the City of Los Angeles Housing and Community Investment Department (HCID) to purchase additional housing for survivors of human trafficking.   “We are fortunate to have a leader on human trafficking like CAST in our city, where we...

The California Legislature has passed Cast’s $30 million request to fund human trafficking victim service providers over the next three years. This $30 million will provide emergency funding for survivors of human trafficking amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath to ensure survivors in every part of the state have...

PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY: The Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking will Join California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Assemblymember Miguel Santiago, and UNICEF Ambassador Alyssa Milano to Discuss the Importance of Budget Funding for Human Trafficking Victim Service Providers  Los Angeles, California - Kay Buck, CEO for the Coalition to Abolish...

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a terrible toll on all Californians. While Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recently announced California Comeback Plan allocates billions of emergency aid funding to those hurt by the pandemic, one group hit harder than most has been left out of the budget proposal: human trafficking victims. I...

Long before they were Mayor and First Lady, Eric Garcetti and Amy Elaine Wakeland were simply Amy and Eric, friends of Cast. Along with eleven other couples belonging to Liberty Hill Foundation’s Pobladores Fund, they rallied together to help create community spaces for survivors of human trafficking to develop leadership...

During the height of the pandemic, Cast received a call from a young mother, Laila, with 3 children ages 5, 3 and 2 months, who were fleeing their trafficker. Cast’s shelter was full and so were the hotel rooms we had allocated for the COVID-19 overflow of survivors needing emergency...

For Dr. John Jain, Chief Fertility Specialist at the Santa Monica Fertility Clinic, advocating for the rights of others runs in the family. His sister, the late celebrated human rights activist Sunita Jain, has been his inspiration to support Cast. Dr. Jain takes a humble and entrepreneurial approach to philanthropy....

Emergency Response Case Manager, Alex Mayugba is used to late-night calls. Within 30 minutes of receiving a call, our Emergency Response staff meet victims where they are, no matter the time of day. When stay-at-home orders, economic instability, and disruption of social services forced survivors into increasingly vulnerable and unsafe...

Human trafficking festers amid injustice and chaos, and the past year has brought plenty of both. Between the health, racial and economic crises of the pandemic, escalating hate violence, social and political upheaval, and a persistent homelessness crisis, Cast saw an 185% increase in urgent trafficking cases from the same...

On March 16th, a 21-year-old white man killed eight human beings, six of whom were Asian women. We are heartbroken for the families of the victims and outraged by these increasing acts of violence targeting Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. Racism, misogyny, and xenophobia are urgent public health issues...

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) introduced the bipartisan Emergency Family Stabilization Act. This legislation would create a new emergency funding stream overseen by the Administration for Children and Families within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to...

LOS ANGELES -- As COVID-19 cases surge, another hidden issue is taking its toll on our country's most vulnerable. Human trafficking cases have risen 185% compared to this time last year, one human rights organization says. Human trafficking "involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type...

Photo by Paulo Murillo for WEHO TIMES The City of West Hollywood recognizes National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month in January. Advocates, organizations, and individuals will unite this month to raise awareness about the issue of human trafficking. The lanterns on Santa Monica Boulevard between N. Robertson Boulevard and...

Cast is outraged by the violent attempt to interrupt democracy at our nation’s Capitol on Wednesday, and calls on those responsible to be held accountable. It was nothing short of an insurrection. White nationalists and QAnon conspiracists forced their way into the building and threatened our democracy and the lives...

Lyresh McGee | Human Trafficking Survivor Months ago, I woke up to the news of yet another innocent Black man who lost his life to racism. The nightmare didn’t end as the news continued to reveal the deaths of more innocent Black people than I could imagine. The world was...

The county ordinance -- which is expected to cover both sex and labor trafficking -- is expected to allow for routine inspections of businesses where trafficking is suspected and fines and penalties for those who fail to post the hotline notice. By City News Service • Published September 15, 2020 • Updated on September 16, 2020 at 1:27...

Two Filipino caregivers who were trafficked share their stories and urge all Filipinos to support anti-trafficking legislation Like thousands of Filipinos, Angela Guanzon was attracted to the promise of America. So when she got the opportunity to find gainful employment through a recruiter, she didn’t ask any questions. It’s notoriously...

Human trafficking survivors need your help. California is considered one of the largest epicenters of human trafficking in the United States and every day, vulnerable women, children, and men are forced into servitude. Governor Newsom and the Legislature have the opportunity to address this epidemic and provide critical supportive services to...

Human trafficking has many faces. Imagine a teenage girl pressured into prostitution by her boyfriend to pay the rent; a foreign national tricked into domestic servitude with promises of a better life; a fisherman trapped at sea working for wages that never materialize. These are just a few accounts of...

My name is Jayson. While I was working in the construction in the Philippines, my uncle received a phone call from a woman and asking for a guy that can work for her. My uncle recommended me and gave the phone to me.  She seems very nice and professional towards...