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"It was a mind control thing. He called it free will. But it wasn't free will...He made you think you wanted to stay."

Homelessness and trafficking ensnare countless young people every day — and with COVID-19, even more are at risk.

Some say these kids just need to make better choices.

But what if you don't have any good options? Could you escape trafficking AND stay off the streets?

What would you do?

Mom is addicted to drugs. Dad is abusive. COVID-19 has closed schools. At 18 years old, you need to get away from home — but you've got nowhere to go.

You stay in your abusive house.

You decide to leave and spend the night on the streets.

Things at home only got worse. When your parents needed more drug money, they started forcing you to have sex with their friends in exchange for money. Traumatized and afraid, and with nowhere else to turn, you stayed — you didn't have a choice.

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In a survey of trafficking survivors living at Covenant House, 95% had been abused as children.

It's just one night outside.
It won't be so bad. Right?

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41% of sex trafficked youth were approached for sex on their very first night of homelessness.

After days on the streets, your stomach hurts from the hunger. The soup kitchen you know of is closed because someone there contracted COVID-19. A man you've gotten to know offers you a meal from the fast-food place — but he asks for sex in return.

You say no — you'd rather go hungry.

You're so, so hungry. And he seems nicer than most people you meet on the streets. You say yes.

Finally, my stomach isn't growling. But why is he being so nice to me?

Delirious and in pain from lack of nutrition, you head to a nearby emergency room.

The hospital is overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients and turns you away. You're homeless, and a target for traffickers, again.

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The man you met keeps coming back, always bringing a treat — a sandwich, a soda. One cold, rainy night, he invites you to stay at his house.

You turn him down, even though you'll be sleeping on the streets again.

You decide to stay over. You haven't had a hot shower in weeks — and he really seems to care.

Survival sex is the trading of a sex act for a basic, urgent need — like food, shelter or medical care. 19% of all Covenant House youth had engaged in survival sex solely so that they could access housing or food.

The house is dark. Maybe I didn't think this through.

Three days straight of sleet and snow have drenched and frozen your small street encampment. Your coat is thin, you don't have gloves and your only pair of socks are soaked through. On top of it all, your chest hurts more every time you cough. You’re paranoid that you’ve caught COVID-19. You're not sure how you'll make it through another night.

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You move in with the man. In a matter of days, he demands that you have sex with others for money. He wants to take some pictures of you, to post online and bring in more business.

You say no and leave — which means you'll be sleeping in the park tonight.

You say yes — you can't go back to the streets. Besides, he says he loves you.

Traffickers take advantage of kids who have never had family or friends to look out for their welfare. 13% of Covenant House youth who were trafficked said that they stayed because they loved their trafficker.

When you refuse, your trafficker becomes violent, beating you, yanking your hair and leaving you bloodied and afraid. You have no choice — you agree to do what he asks.

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Trafficking survivors at Covenant House have reported experiencing physical force from pimps and traffickers — ranging from violent assaults to threats of murder.

He loves me, so he'd never hurt me. I hope.

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Months go by. The trafficker grows more violent each day, forcing you to do things that make you feel ashamed. One night, you make a break for it.

But back on the streets, no one will give you a job — COVID-19 has shut down the whole city. Desperate, you have a choice: Go back to your trafficker, or go hungry and homeless.

You stay homeless on the streets.

You go back to your trafficker.

There's no right answer here, because it wasn't really a choice to begin with. Every option is a bad one.

Each day, kids across the United States are forced to make the same impossible decisions. Homelessness leaves kids especially vulnerable to traffickers. LGBTQ kids are an even greater target.

In fact, one in five kids who calls a Covenant House shelter home has been a victim of human trafficking. And with COVID-19 forcing more people into homelessness we’re afraid that number may rise.

We have a responsibility to give kids real choices and opportunities. So here's a final choice for you:

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