Long Beach summit spotlights trafficking along Long Beach Boulevard, urges training and services

Long Beach city leaders and community organizations convened a Human Trafficking Summit on Oct. 30 to address trafficking and public-safety concerns along Long Beach Boulevard in North Long Beach and neighboring areas.

An organizer for the event (Speaker 1) said the summit, hosted by council members from the eighth and ninth districts, aimed to bring "city officials, organizations, and community leaders" together with survivors and other stakeholders to raise awareness and identify coordinated responses. "The summit addressed existing human trafficking and public safety concerns along Long Beach Boulevard in North Long Beach," the organizer said.

Speaker 2 framed human trafficking as "an international phenomena" that has long affected the community and described ongoing local efforts. "I've been working with Councilmember Rick Soady to identify some solutions on how the city and other partners can come together to provide the kind of economic development that communities need, safety, as well as public health and other wrap around services," Speaker 2 said.

Representatives of service organizations said they want clearer, centralized pathways for survivors to find help. "We are a collaborative organization, and so we become a resource hub for all of the stakeholders and the community when they need to find out what resources are available to be able to help the survivors," Speaker 3 said, urging a "more cohesive plan."

Speakers stressed prevention and education. Speaker 4 said training is needed "for schools, for teachers, students, parents, caregivers, community members, and our youth," and added that survivor testimony helps communities understand "what actually happens, how it happens, what needs to change."

A survivor who spoke at the summit, identified in the transcript as Speaker 5, described leaving a trafficking situation and the challenges of rebuilding. "For a long time, I had no voice," the survivor said. She said she now does outreach and advocacy to provide youth with awareness, education and information on "how to get help, how to reach out."

The summit also referenced prior outreach this year, including a visual event on Long Beach Boulevard and a town hall, and organizers directed attendees to the city’s full human-trafficking report and resources at longbeach.gov.

The summit produced discussion of several recurring proposals — more training for schools and community members, creation or strengthening of a centralized resource hub for survivors, and coordination of economic-development and public-health supports to help people exit trafficking — but the transcript records no formal votes or motions at the event.