Commission backs regional 'Safety for the Bay' outreach campaign, hears funding and service gaps from county and coalition reports

The Santa Clara County Human Trafficking Commission on Sept. 8 voted unanimously to recommend that the Board of Supervisors authorize the commission to sponsor or adopt the regional outreach and resource campaign SafetyForTheBay (Safety for the Bay) and to participate in regional messaging ahead of major sporting events.

The commission’s endorsement follows a presentation from the South Bay Coalition to End Human Trafficking and a briefing from the county Office of Gender Based Violence Prevention (OGBVP). The coalition described an annual report summarizing service provider data and outreach work; OGBVP described the county’s contract portfolio and recent RFP cycle and flagged a series of federal funding cuts that affect survivor eligibility and service delivery.

Sharon Denoa, director of the South Bay Coalition to End Human Trafficking, presented highlights from the coalition’s annual report. Among the figures presented: in the last fiscal year participating advocacy agencies reported 361 comprehensive case‑management services to survivors; 53 percent of adult advocacy clients were identified as survivors of sex trafficking and 45 percent…