Wellspring Living

✨ Make it a night to remember!
Couple tickets are now available for the 2026 Wellspring Living Courage Gala on October 4 at Flourish Atlanta!
Bring someone special and join us for an inspiring evening of courage, hope and transformation as we celebrate survivors and support Wellspring Living’s mission.
🎟️ Reserve your couple tickets: Click “Reserve Your Table” at the link below.
🔗 https://give.wellspringliving.org/event/2026-wellspring-living-courage-gala/e778591

Help us make the 2026 Courage Gala Silent Auction something special!

Donation deadline: September 25, 2026

Courage Gala Silent Auction Donation Form or https://form.jotform.com/faceitsocial/2026-courage-gala?utm_source=chatgpt.com

*xualExploitation

This research points to an important shift in how we understand commercial s*xual exploitation. S*x buyers should not always be viewed as isolated individuals. Researchers found evidence of connected, persistent online networks where users share information, facilitate participation, manage risk, and reinforce behaviors that sustain the commercial s*x market. The study concludes that these networks meet the United Nations definition of an organized criminal group.

Why does that matter?

Because if exploitation is supported by organized networks, our response must be organized too. We need education. We need prevention. We need accountability.
And we need to keep centering survivors in the work.

At Wellspring Living, we join with survivors to disrupt s*xual exploitation and trafficking through Housing, Healing, and Education. Together, we can help create communities where exploitation has less room to thrive.

Source: Kamdem et al., “Behind the Screen: Online S*x Buyer Networks and the Organized Criminal Promotion of Exploitation,” Dignity, 2026.

Here’s another important finding from the research.

The study found a 64.9% likelihood that a post contained “benefit” content - information intended to help users avoid financial, legal, physical, or other risks associated with participating in illegal commercial s*x. In simple terms, users were helping one another make participation feel safer and more predictable. That matters because reducing perceived risk can make it easier for people to continue participating. The research shows that these online communities aren't just talking about experiences. They are sharing information that can help sustain the market.

To disrupt exploitation, we have to address demand - including the networks that help support it.

Source: Kamdem et al., 2026.

Online conversations can influence real-world behavior. Researchers found that s*x buyer forums were being used to share information that could promote and facilitate participation in the commercial s*x market. That included recommendations, advertisements, reviews, and logistical information. The study found a 31.7% likelihood that a post contained content classified as “criminal acts” - meaning information that supported or facilitated the illegal commercial s*x economy.

The bigger picture is important: Online networks can help normalize exploitation, connect buyers, and make participation easier. That means disrupting trafficking also means understanding and addressing the digital spaces where demand is organized.

We can’t disrupt what we don’t understand.

Source: Kamdem et al., 2026.

The numbers are hard to ignore. Researchers analyzed:
1.2 million+ posts
72,974 unique users
789,929 direct replies

The data came from an online s*x buyer forum and covered activity from 2018 through 2024. Researchers found thousands of connected communities and geographic networks that showed ongoing interaction between users. This wasn't simply a collection of isolated conversations. It was a connected digital ecosystem. And understanding these networks can help identify new ways to disrupt the demand that fuels commercial s*xual exploitation.

Education matters. Awareness matters. And understanding the systems behind exploitation matters.

Source: Kamdem et al., 2026.

What happens online can have real-world consequences. A new study examined more than 1.2 million posts from nearly 73,000 users on an online s*x buyer forum.
What researchers found challenges the idea that s*x buyers are simply individuals acting on their own. These online communities were connected through ongoing conversations, shared information, and networks that crossed geographic boundaries.

The takeaway?

Demand for commercial s*x can be organized, connected, and self-reinforcing. Understanding how these networks operate gives us another opportunity to disrupt exploitation and trafficking.

Wellspring Living believes education is an important part of prevention and change.

Source: Kamdem et al., “Behind the Screen: Online S*x Buyer Networks and the Organized Criminal Promotion of Exploitation,” Dignity, 2026.

A true success! 🎆

Thank you so much to everyone who attended the ACTIVATE 2026 conference with us! It was so amazing seeing people come together to learn, heal, and connect with one another in the name of stopping trafficking.

A special thank you to UPS for sponsoring this important event! Thanks to your generosity, we were able to educate and empower our community.

So exciting!

The groundbreaking for the first two homes in our Cottage Community marks an exciting milestone for the Village of Hope. These new cottages will provide housing for women and their children as they take important steps toward independence.

These initial two cottages symbolize hope, stability, and a pathway to self-sufficiency. Stay tuned, as we plan to begin construction on the remaining cottages in 2026, bringing the total number of homes in the community to 18!

What an Angel! 😇

A big thank you to volunteer Angel Haumschild, owner and designer of Home Revamp, for sharing her talents and generosity to decorate an apartment in The Bridge community for a new participant and her child to call home!

Angel’s generosity is a beautiful example of how our community can lean in. When we each share our time, talents, and resources, we can make a meaningful impact in the lives of survivors.