Everstrong

94% of the teens we surveyed said they have a trusted adult in their life. That's really great news.

But when we asked specifically about trafficking, grooming, or online exploitation, that confidence dropped. Teens told us their parents don't think this is something that could happen close to home. That the tech gap makes it hard to even explain what's happening online. That it's often easier to talk to a friend their own age about it than an adult — which, as one teen put it, "I don't think is a good thing."

You don't have to become an expert by tomorrow. You're already the person they'd come to about almost everything else. This is about closing the gap on one topic, not starting from scratch.

See everstrong.org for resources built to help you have that conversation. And let us know how it goes!

We surveyed 116 teens across 45 Washington schools and asked: Do you believe school provides enough trafficking prevention education? Only four said yes.

Here's what the rest told us, in their own words. Boring assemblies nobody pays attention to. Examples so specific and obvious they don't match what actually happens. Schools that teach healthy relationships and stop right before the trafficking part. Rules like "don't talk to strangers online" that almost every kid breaks anyway, because that's not really how it happens.

What they asked for wasn't more warnings. It was real information about manipulation and grooming, healthy relationships and boundaries, and how to stay safe online.

Washington's new state mandate is supposed to close this gap. Whether it actually does depends on what teachers have available and how comfortable they are leading the conversation, not just what's technically required.

This is the gap Everstrong's prevention resources are built to fill. Learn more at everstrong.org

Please save the date! On November 9th, Everstrong is hosting the Seattle premiere of The Right Track, a documentary following survivors and advocates working to end s*xual exploitation and trafficking across North America. Our thanks to The Right Track filmmakers and The Jensen Project for your partnership bringing this important film to Seattle.

The conversation couldn't be timelier. Trafficking has been everywhere in the national news, and here in Seattle it's been making headlines too. Too often, our civic conversations about it happen without the people who understand it best. This is a chance to put survivor voices at the center of that conversation.

The evening is both a screening and a conversation, with a 45-minute cut of the film and a moderated panel featuring survivor speakers — including Melanie Thompson and Terry Forliti, two nationally recognized survivor speakers and activists who also serve on our Survivor Council.

It's an unflinching film, but not a story about victims; it's a story about people who took what happened to them and turned it into action. That's the same instinct behind everything Everstrong does: we don't wait until exploitation has happened to act. We prepare young people and the adults around them to recognize risk earlier, and we build our prevention tools with survivors, not just about them.

Keep an eye on our social media to be notified when registration opens, or sign up for our newsletter at the link in bio for the earliest opportunity to secure tickets.

We're working to prevent child s*x trafficking. We asked teens to write down what's on their minds about safety, trust, and relationships. Swipe to see what they wrote.

Our intern Addie came up with this project and brought together a group of high schoolers this summer to talk honestly about what's really on their minds.

This is exactly what Everstrong exists to do. Head to the link in our bio to explore our prevention portal and see how we're educating, not just protecting.

These are real quotes from a summer focus group of high schoolers, led by our intern Addie, about safety, trust, and growing up right now.

For each one, we paired the free education built to answer it. This is what s*x trafficking prevention education actually looks like, for teachers, families, and anyone with a teen in their life.

Explore our full prevention portal, link in bio.