Featured Organization: CAST

The Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking (CAST), a not-for-profit organization, was established in 1998 in the wake of the El Monte sweatshop case where 72 Thai garment workers were kept for eight years in slavery and debt bondage. Upon their release and under the leadership of CAST’s founder Dr. Kathryn MacMahon, a group of concerned community activists realized something needed to be done to address the re-emergence of slavery in our own backyards.

Kim escaped a decade of forced prostitution from a makeshift brothel in the suburbs of Los Angeles. After spending time at the CAST shelter, her mental and physical outlook improved dramatically. Today she is speaking out on behalf of other victims.

John was trafficked to the US from Mexico, forced to work long hours in a restaurant under constant threat of physical abuse and deportation. But when the FBI liberated him, CAST provided crisis services and placed him in a partner shelter program for men. With support from CAST, John worked with the FBI to hold the traffickers accountable for their crime.

Lulu suffered years of physical and sexual abuse after being trafficked from Indonesia to Los Angeles as a domestic servant. Once liberated, it took only a month after coming to CAST for her to obtain a Work Authorization card. Today she is enrolled in a part-time nursing program and building the foundation of her life.

As many as 18,000 men, women and children are trafficked into the United States every year and even more are trafficked within our borders – suffering unspeakable violence at the hands of traffickers. Yet survivors of slavery like these bear testament to what CAST accomplishes on a daily basis. Our work is important because it empowers. So as we gather around with family and friends during the holidays, let us celebrate the New Year by continuing to create hope and the promise of new lives.

Will you help ? Your contribution will continue to help provide victims with a second chance at life and help to end modern-day slavery once and for all.

For more information, visit http://www.castla.org