By Loreal Weitzel
Did you know Santa Cruz County is a hotspot for sex trafficking? That’s why the Arukah Project started “Natasha’s Run for Justice,” an event to raise money to help trafficking victims who have escaped or been rescued.
On June 15, dozens of people gathered for the third annual Natasha’s Run for Justice at Skypark in Scotts Valley. This featured a 5k walk/run , followed by a family fun day with balloon twisting, a bounce house, face painting, a beer and wine garden, food trucks, and the Alison Sharino Band.
This annual fundraising event is dedicated to a local survivor who fought for 15 years for her voice to be heard, for people to believe her, and to see her trafficker brought to justice.
Due to her unwavering determination, her trafficker was sentenced to 174 years in prison, preventing him from ever terrorizing another victim again.
Loreal Weitzel and Natasha with a group of students from Twin Lakes Church’s “Lovin Life” Ministry “Life School,” plus high school students who came to volunteer at Natasha’s Run for Justice.
According to Arukah Project, every week there are up to 200 sex ads in Santa Cruz County. Social media is the main tool in luring young people.
“There’s kids thinking they’re talking to other kids, but they’re not. They’re going to meet up with a trafficker and they don’t know that,” Natasha added.
To help protect kids and teens from online predators and to teach parents about the realities of internet dangers, Arukah Project has created Defenders training for families and teens.
Arukah Project, a Santa Cruz-based 501C-3 nonprofit, works to restore, renew, and rebuild the lives of sex trafficking survivors in Santa Cruz County and the Bay Area through after-care resources.
The founders are passionate about building a community where victims of all ages can come forward and get the help they need.
Not only do they work with adult survivors, they also have been licensed by the State of California as a Foster Family Agency to work with and care for commercially sexually exploited children ages 0-17 and non-minor dependents ages 18-21.
This event and all of our donors enable us to never say no to helping someone, so we are thankful for all who came out to support our work and to celebrate Natasha’s victory as well as her dedication to helping victims.
“It was an amazing day of community support for survivors. Everyone who participated allowed for us to never have to tell a survivor that we can’t help them” said Natasha, the deputy executive director of Arukah Project and the honoree for the event.
You can join the fight against human trafficking by signing up for our monthly newsletter to find out more about upcoming events, volunteer opportunities, and other ways to get involved. By joining our family of monthly donors, you help us continue to provide life-saving work every day. Please find out more at www.ap501.com.
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Loreal Weitzel is executive director and co-founder of Arukah Project.