Human Trafficking in Our Backyard

In 2008 a young girl was taken from a shopping center parking lot in El Dorado Hills—right up the hill in our own backyard. Friends and family took immediate action and contacted local and state authorities, and she was found eight days later. During those eight days, however, the girl became a victim of human trafficking. When asked what could have prevented her abduction, she said, “In school. If I had learned about what human trafficking was and the tactics the traffickers use, I would have known how to protect myself.”

Inspired to act, family friend Ashlie Bryant co-founded nonprofit Break Free to mobilize communities against human trafficking, with the Break Free Run being its first event in 2010.  Break Free later evolved into 3Strands Global Foundation (3SGF), an organization that aims to see a world free from human trafficking and that has educated an estimated 500,000 students on trafficking prevention. The organization also partners with organizations all over the globe to serve survivors through reintegration and empowerment through employment. These organizations make products that 3SGF purchases and resells in order to increase awareness and to provide a sustainable source of revenue for their programs.

Support 3SGF by signing up for the Break Free Run, and help put an end to human trafficking and exploitation.