“If I’m a victim, why am I in this jail cell?”

Dear WestCoast Community:

Children who are bought and sold for sex are often arrested for prostitution rather than receiving the protection and support provided to victims of rape and child abuse. At WestCoast, 73% of the youth we serve in our intensive mental health program for commercially sexually exploited youth have been involved in the juvenile justice system as a result of their exploitation.

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After Spending the Most Precious Years of My Life as a Foster Child, I Am Now Changing the System

A powerful article by a former Alameda County Youth Advocate.

“My induction into YAP became the pivotal moment that catapulted my ability to advocate for my own needs and it allowed me to see myself as a social change agent for current foster youth in my community who were struggling with similar issues. The YAP experience inspired me to want more access to macro-level change and micro-level interventions for children and families impacted by the system…”

After Spending the Most Precious Years of My Life as a Foster Child, I Am Now Changing the System; By Joymara Coleman