US Programs

Many people in the U.S. believe that human trafficking only happens in faraway countries or exclusively due to issues at our southern border. In reality, children and adults, citizens and newcomers, are being exploited across our country. Criminals in the U.S. are making millions of dollars off of the commodification of human bodies through labor and sex trafficking, and online exploitation. UNITAS programs address the issue from multiple angles.

We’re committed to reach children before traffickers do, increase the capacity of educators and parents to protect youth, and work alongside and support survivors towards a flourishing life. 

  • Prevention Curriculum

    “If I had this curriculum when I was in school I wouldn’t have been trafficked.”

    — Survivor

  • Professional Development & Capacity Building

    “This is the best training on human trafficking we’ve had....powerful, necessary. You’ve ignited a sense of urgency in us to empower our youth.”

    —NYC School Social Worker

  • Survivor Care Center & Survivor Support

    "My experience with intensive therapy was incredible. To have a team help me understand my trauma and heal was so empowering."

    —Angel (Survivor)

  • Intervention

    “The training provided by UNITAS and protocol set by the NYPD will enable swift identification and recovery of victims.”

    —Deputy Chief Marlon Larin, NYPD School Safety Division

Prevention Curriculum

UNITAS gathered a team of experts with over 100 years of combined experience in the counter-trafficking field. Together, we created LIGHTS © – an engaging and comprehensive human trafficking prevention education curriculum for youth ages 11 to 18.

In 2022, UNITAS was awarded a Webby Gold Anthem Award for "Best Strategy" and "Transformative" human trafficking prevention education for our curriculum LIGHTS. Our partners include community organizations, Washington DC Public Schools, and the NYC Department of Education where we are implementing a 5-year strategy to educate all 1.2 million public school students in NYC annually.

LIGHTS is an evidence-based, survivor-informed, prevention education curriculum designed to empower youth with knowledge and skills to protect themselves from human trafficking and exploitation. Our 10 interwoven narratives are based on the lived experiences of survivors bringing to life the complex, and most common ways youth in America are trafficked and exploited. Images are not of victims.

Professional Development &
Capacity Building

Does your organization or school district need help in the fight against human trafficking?

UNITAS offers a comprehensive approach to disrupting the cycle of trafficking while closing the gaps in community responses.

This includes:

1.

Gathering key stakeholders to build a collective response and initiative.

2.

Certifying select staff to implement our LIGHTS curriculum directly with youth.

3.

Establishing protocols and strategies for responding to suspected trafficking that aligns with best practices.

4.

Professional development training for leaders and staff in schools and community organizations to ensure increased understanding of trafficking and coordinated responses.

5.

Consultations to enhance community capacity for youth experiencing trafficking or related forms of exploitation

To hire UNITAS for professional development and capacity-building services please fill out the form below:

Survivor Support

UNITAS offers therapeutic intensives and survivor retreats. We are currently working on opening a holistic survivor care center with long-term housing.

Survivors of human trafficking have experienced profound and acute trauma that is often compounded by previous traumas, neglect, and abuse. The levels of psychological manipulation, along with societal and self-blame, are challenging to navigate.

Support Services

UNITAS currently offers these support services:

Therapeutic Intensives

UNITAS provides customized therapeutic intensives for survivors of human trafficking. These sessions are guided by a multidisciplinary team of clinical experts in a loving environment.

Our team of practitioners includes:
therapists, survivor mentors, life coaches, and optional spiritual advisors, trauma-informed yoga instructors, art and music therapists.

Survivor Retreats

Offering survivors a chance to heal alongside each other is life-changing. Our retreats include life-skills building, art therapy, survivor bonding, and support groups that last a lifetime in an environment where the motto is always, "When love meets love, true healing begins.”

Not an image of a victim

Unitas Survivor Care Center

UNITAS is currently working on opening survivor care centers with long-term housing and holistic care.

Services Will Include:

  • Housing: Holistic healing environment for 18–25-year-old survivors.

  • Addresses developmental, social, and emotional needs through daily strengths-based recreational, educational, and therapeutic groups and programming.

  • Supports members to engage or re-engage in the educational process, obtain their high school diploma or GED, and succeed in post-secondary education or vocational training through our educational support services.

  • Transitional independent living program with 24-hour support for those young people ages 18 – 25 who have taken positive steps in their healing journeys but aren't quite ready to be reintegrated back into the community.

  • Left open for survivors who need to be transferred out of the reach of their trafficker/pimp until further services and resources can be identified.

  • Supports the development of critical thinking, leadership, and community organizing skills and deepens members' understanding of the social conditions that keep commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking in place.

  • The core concepts – how to spend, save and borrow, invest and accumulate wealth – promote financial independence.

  • Survivors would be served by a multidisciplinary team of clinical experts who would guide them to heal and thrive.

  • Including Alternative to Incarceration (ATI) through the Human Trafficking Intervention Courts and Family Court Advocacy (FCA). Guide youth to gain all

Intervention

UNITAS liaises with school staff, law enforcement, and community organizations to identify potential victims of human trafficking.

Because of our work in schools, two children per week are being identified as victims or potential victims of human trafficking. Once identified, we liaise with school staff, law enforcement, and community organizations to ensure their needs are urgently addressed.

This includes the following cases:

  • A 16-year-old girl was brought to safety after being confined in a warehouse and sold for sex.

  • A 15-year-old boy who was being exploited by a convicted child predator was freed from his situation and further exploitation.

  • The exploitation of a middle school student was disrupted after being sold across the street from the school on the roof of an adjacent building.

  • A missing 16-year-old was found in Las Vegas after school staff followed up with the red flags we teach.

  • Youths being used as recruiters were identified and confronted, mitigating further trafficking within that school.