“I was sold for $60 and some meth by my aunt. I was 15.”

       – Katie*, a Lincoln sex trafficking survivor

In our line of work, awareness has the power to save lives… ask Katie. We are the only nonprofit in Lincoln fighting sex trafficking through awareness and Street Outreach — personally connecting one-on-one with women and girls who are vulnerable or victims. Our Street Outreach Director uses her past-life experience to meet girls exactly where they are in their journeys. She relates to them... they relate to her.

The Connect to Protect Initiative will increase public awareness that sex trafficking exists in Lincoln, provide a safe environment for our youth to seek help, strengthen our Street Outreach Team and develop our Men’s Movement.

We will host the Connect to Protect Conference, the first in Lincoln to address sex trafficking on a local level. This one-day event for the general public, parents and youth will include an overview of sex trafficking in Lincoln, powerful testimonies from local survivors and breakout sessions: Shaped by Social Media, Parent Alert, True vs False Love, and Men’s Movement to End the Demand.

We will create a live chat box on our website for youth to personally connect with a member of our Street Outreach Team. This safe and confidential chat, with the option to remain anonymous, will build trust for youth to seek help in a format that is comforting for them. Katie was a runaway… could she have been protected if she reached out through the chat?

The anticipated impact of our Connect to Protect Initiative will increase referrals and interactions with parents and our youth. These demands will require our current Street Outreach Specialist to become a full-time position. How many other girls like Katie are out there now?

We will develop our Men’s Movement to address the root cause of this injustice –– the demand for sex. We will lead men to become strong examples of purity and respect for their families, the community and our youth. This movement strongly diminishes the “men will be men” narrative regarding pornography, strip clubs, and other sexually explicit content.

Our Connect to Protect Initiative will require the addition of a part-time Men’s Movement Director to engage men in circles of accountability. What if there was no one to buy Katie?

The Big Give, presented by UBT, will provide us, a small organization, with an incredibly BIG opportunity to make Lincoln a safer place for our youth, a healing place for survivors, and a dangerous place for traffickers and buyers.

“People ask me, what could have helped me while being trafficked? The answer is simple. If just 1 person listened to me, it would have saved me a lifetime of pain.”

      – Heather*, a Lincoln sex trafficking survivor

We have made a significant impact on the fight against sex trafficking in Lincoln, however your vote for I’ve Got A Name will allow us to reach a higher level to connect and protect our youth, rescue women and girls, and restore those who are victims.