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WHY DO WE THROW OUR CHILDREN AWAY??? WHAT DO WE DO WITH/ABOUT
PARENTS????
Child prostitutes aren't receiving needed help
Deseret News (Salt
Lake City), Nov 29,
2009 | by Joe
Markman Chicago Tribune
WASHINGTON (MCT) -- When the FBI announced a nationwide crackdown on child
prostitution last month as part of a long-term initiative to combat domestic sex
trafficking, it noted that 52 children had been rescued from "sexual
slavery."
"It is repugnant that children in these times could be subjected to the great
pain, suffering, and indignity of being forced into sexual slavery for someone
else's profit," said Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer at the time.
But a month later none of those children is receiving the kind of help that
experts say they require to overcome the trauma of their experiences, and some
are still languishing in local juvenile detention centers, according to a
Tribune Newspapers check of the children's situation.
Experts say the only way to ensure a good chance of recovery for these
children is placement in a residential treatment program for such victims, of
which there are only three in the United States: in New York, California and
Georgia.
"When America's child prostitutes are identified by the FBI or police, they
are incarcerated for whatever reason possible, whether it be an unrelated crime
or 'material witness hold,'" said Lois Lee, founder of one of the three centers,
Children of the Night in Los Angeles.
"Then they are dumped back in the dysfunctional home, ill- equipped group
home or foster care, and (often) disappear back into the underground of
prostitution with no voice."
Child-sex trafficking experts say that victims struggle to find the care they
need once they escape an illicit industry that some estimate could involve as
many as 300,000 U.S. children.
Asked about Lee's comments, Ian McCaleb, a spokesman for the Justice
Department, said the department "uses a victim-centered approach that provides
victims with the services they need in order to recover and to fully participate
in the criminal justice process."
A report prepared for Health and Human Services in 2007 then found four
residential treatment centers with a total of 45 beds for child prostitutes in
the United States.
Interviews with the centers show that bed numbers remain low two years
later.
New York-based Girls Educational and Mentoring Services has 12 beds. One of
the four mentioned in the 2007 report, The Standing Against Global Exploitation
Safe House in San Francisco, no longer has beds for trafficking victims, though
it offers nonresidential care for victims and helps place them with foster
families.
Melba Robinson, a program manager at Georgia's Center to End Adolescent
Sexual Exploitation, said the center's Angela's House, which usually takes in
girls on probation, is expanding from six beds to eight.
Still, with victims numbering in the thousands, advocates say there just
aren't enough treatment options to go around.
adults should/could learn from children
The story of a special friendship
Esteban and Leigh bonded in the nurse's office
By Georgia East, Sun Sentinel
November 29, 2009
WESTON
Esteban Parra knows the lyrics by heart.
He plans to sing Carrie
Underwood's Jesus Take the Wheel on Tuesday, at the funeral of his friend
Leigh Lampart. He plans to be strong, just the way Leigh would have
wanted.
Leigh Lampart, a bright and determined fifth-grader at Manatee
Bay Elementary School in Weston, died from a brain tumor on Nov. 23. She was
11.
Esteban and Leigh, both fifth-graders, bonded in their school nurse's
office a little over a year ago.
Esteban, a Type 1 diabetic, got to know
Leigh during his daily stops at the clinic to check his blood sugar and take his
insulin.
Leigh used to spend time in the nurse's office to rest and drink
the water she needed to flush down her medicine.
What began as a
friendship forged from circumstance blossomed into much more.
They
showered each other with support. In April, they were both profiled as Sun
Sentinel's Kids of Character for their kindness.
"Esteban would come
by the clinic every day and ask for her,'' said Evelyn Destin, the nurse at
Manatee's school clinic. "When she came back to school and she couldn't talk, he
brought an eraser board so she could write stuff down and they could still
communicate.''
Leigh would remind Esteban to eat the snacks he needs to
keep his diabetes in check.
In turn, he would help her carry her books
and leave messages on her mom's cell phone to see if she was OK.
Once, on
the spur of the moment, he wheeled her into the school cafeteria, grabbed a
microphone and sang, Let God Take the Wheel, to lift her
spirits.
All along they prayed for each other to get
well.
Students and family plan to make Leigh's service a celebration of
her life. At the family's request Esteban will also sing one of Leigh's favorite
songs, Journey's Don't Stop Believin'.
It's a message that has hit
home.
Last week students wore pink and red T-shirts to school in Leigh's
honor and used their bodies to spell out her name as their principal took
photos.The PTA helped to organize a fundraiser in her honor.
Some said
they were moved by Leigh's resilience and how determined she was to come to
school, even when she had to struggle to get there.
"She just wanted to
be here,'' said Destin.
Esteban takes comfort in remembering the Leigh he
once knew, the vibrant girl who enjoyed doing cartwheels.
"I think about
all the happy stuff we did together,'' Esteban said. "I think of the
end-of-the-year party when we danced.''
Their illnesses weren't the only
thing they had in common.
Esteban hopes to become a famous singer. He
said Leigh told him that she wanted to be an actress and fashion
designer.
"She's in a happy place,'' he said, "doing all those
cartwheels.''
The funeral will be 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday at Calvary
Chapel Sawgrass, 1775 Flamingo Road, Davie.
Georgia East can be
reached at geast@sun-sentinel.com or
954-572-2078.