Pathfinders’ Youth Anti-Sexual Violence (YAV) team works with young people aged 11 to 25 experiencing sexual exploitation and trafficking, often in tandem with homelessness.
The goal of this work is to support each young person’s safety, stability and healing. We are always evolving in response to youth telling us what they need.
Read on to hear more from Lead Advocate Courtney Francois and Director of Runaway & Homeless Youth and Anti-Violence Services Tricia Redmond.
Tell us about Pathfinders youth anti-violence work over the last year. What trends are you noticing? What type of support are young people asking for?
Courtney: We are seeing increased survival sex tied to rising housing instability and limited resources. Youth consistently ask for stable housing, mental health support, basic needs like food and help navigating unsafe situations.
Tricia: Young people continue to ask for someone to be with them when they’re involved in the complex legal/criminal justice system. The legal system is difficult to understand as a trained professional. It is invaluable for youth to have someone who can amplify their voice, help them understand their options and speak up when their rights are violated.
Pathfinders and other organizations serving survivors experienced a large governmental funding loss in 2024. How has this impacted our work?
Tricia: The VOCA funding loss changed the landscape of services available to youth survivors. There are fewer resources, ripple effects of services changing and a loss of collaborative structures to coordinate support.
Courtney: At Pathfinders, we’ve seen an increase in the number of youth each member of our team works with and fewer flexible dollars to support youth, all while the need continues to grow. What hasn’t changed is our commitment to providing nonjudgmental support focused on safety, choice and trust.
Why are youth homelessness and vulnerability to trafficking so strongly connected? How does your team work with Pathfinders’ housing, shelter and other teams to keep youth safe?
Tricia: When youth experience homelessness, they are more likely to be exploited to have a place to stay, food or another basic need. And, if they leave an unsafe situation, they may not have another place to go.
Courtney: Our team works closely with Pathfinders’ staff to ensure every youth who might be experiencing trafficking can immediately connect with us. And, when our youth need support with housing, homelessness prevention, employment or basic needs, we coordinate with other teams to ensure they get what they need.
Pathfinders shares expertise with other professionals working with vulnerable youth, like law enforcement, healthcare and judges in Children’s Court. How has collaboration led to better support for young people?
Tricia: At Pathfinders, we work with youth who are involved in criminal cases as victims or witnesses. They may ask for our support communicating with the legal system for updates on the case and understanding their role. We also see many youth who are disengaged from child welfare, school or healthcare who ask for support re-engaging. We partner with those systems and can help with that.
There are also broader issues that can only be addressed by working collaboratively. For example, medical professionals came to Pathfinders for support to improve their response to youth experiencing exploitation. We collaborated with our youth leaders to provide that training and have done similar training with law enforcement.
Pathfinders’ anti-sexual violence work is guided by feedback from an action board of young people who have experienced these issues firsthand. What are our youth leaders working on now?
Courtney: Supporting peers is a big part of their role. Having someone who can relate helps young people build trust and speak more freely. Our youth leaders host monthly groups in our Drop-In Center on staying safe, healthy relationships, boundaries and how to deal when it feels like the system is working against them.
Youth leaders contribute to change at Pathfinders and across our community. Currently, they are giving input on homelessness prevention, supporting justice system-involved youth and connecting more young people with permanent housing.
Finally, what should people know about the young people you work with?
Courtney: That they are people. Sometimes you end up in bad situations, sometimes you are born into a bad situation, but that doesn’t make you a bad person. Our youth are intelligent, driven and hardworking. They push us to do better and to get to know people for who they are. They are true leaders.
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