California's Forgotten Children

In high school I watched a documentary about child trafficking. I was enraged and heartbroken by this horrific crime being done to children. A fire ignited within me and I felt a profound urge to take action, to make a difference, and so, I signed up to volunteer at MISSSEY, an organization that motivates, inspires, supports, and serves sexually exploited youth in Oakland. At the time, I thought I would be helping children in other countries, but I discovered that students from my own high school were victims of exploitation. So I was not allowed to meet the youth I was helping.

Regardless of that, I dived into the cause, volunteering tirelessly to support survivors and the organizations fighting this battle. I would sweep floors, collect general necessities, wrapped birthday and holiday presents, and helped fundraise.

Years later, my commitment to the cause continued, and I asked what the movement needed as a documentary. Armed with my skills as a filmmaker, I embarked on a mission to raise awareness and give communities the tools and knowledge needed to combat this epidemic. They connected me with organizations across California and prominent survivors leaders in the movement and I began making the documentary. I was a recent college graduate from UCLA, I didn’t have any money and I didn’t even have a car but I had skills, a talent, and friends so we worked together to make this film on a shoestring budget.

My journey led to the creation of California's Forgotten Children, a powerful documentary that became a movement to bring about change.

California's Forgotten Children has reached thousands of people internationally, sparking conversations and raising awareness about the prevalence of child sex trafficking. The film's reach has been vast, from airing on PBS channels to being screened at prestigious events like the United State of Women Summit and the United State Senate. Even tech giants like Facebook recognized the film's impact, using it to train their international staff to protect at-risk individuals and hiring the survivor leaders from the film to aid them.

We collaborate with schools, government bodies, health services, crisis services, juvenile justice, and community centers, holding screenings and discussions to educate students, policy leaders, and communities. The film serves as a crucial tool to initiate conversations about prevention, protection, and prosecution. We have worked diligently to create a trauma informed guidebook to accompany the film, ensuring it becomes a part of essential Health & Safety courses.

The film has aided victims of abuse, homelessness, and exploitation in classrooms with the support of crisis centers and the police department. Through film screenings it has been used to fundraise for safe-homes and direct services for victims of commercial sexual exploitation, sexual assault, homelessness, and HIV/AIDS. We also have an Ambassador program with the film that creates jobs and opportunities for survivor leaders with the film.

But our work is far from over. We stand committed to donating the net proceeds from our film to the organizations featured in it, as well as others we have encountered along this arduous journey.

And that is where you come in. Your voice, your influence, and your encouragement can make all the difference. By advocating for our cause, sharing our film and hosting a screening of it in your community, bringing it to your schools, you can help magnify our impact.