13,079 people.
Why is that number important? It's the number of people who were trafficked in Sacramento County between 2015-2020.*
13,079 members of our community were sold for sex through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. Many of them were children.
At Community Against Sexual Harm (CASH), survivors of sexual exploitation help each other find a new beginning, a new life, one step at a time. CASH is a very special place.
CASH was created in 2008 by Sacramento police officers, Oak Park residents, local businesses and, most importantly, women who had been trafficked themselves. Since that time we have helped thousands of survivors by offering respite, peer support, food, housing assistance and harm reduction services.
We offer survivors long-term support that evolves with them as life stabilizes and individual needs shift from crisis to achieving goals. We help women find permanent housing, establish first-time jobs or career pathways, and access ongoing health and wellness support. We also help survivors apply for county and state benefits, such as Cal Fresh and Medi-Cal enrollment and crime victim compensation. In addition, we provide education about the harm inflicted on women and the community by commercial sexual exploitation.
Our direct services include: our Drop-in Center; peer-led support groups; housing support services; case management to connect survivors to available services; a court-ordered diversion program; outreach and support for youth, and a workforce development program for job training and skill development. Our drop-in center provides hot food, clothing, hygiene supplies, harm reduction supplies, respite, and a safe place to experience positive interactions.
This year we have embarked on a new venture. Our research demonstrated that survivors lacked access to safe, non-judgmental health care. So we partnered with the CARES Foundation and Dignity Health to open the Dignity Health Medical Safe Haven at CASH, a clinic providing trauma-informed care and offering access to harm reduction strategies, HIV testing, birth control, wound care, vaccines, and many other basic medical needs. Survivors of commercial sexual exploitation are often met with barriers, judgment, or lack of understanding in health care settings, and we are so excited bridge this gap and help women take control of their health!
We are very proud of how our programs meet women where they are, equipping them to prevent further harm as we partner to build successful futures. While we continue to fulfill our mission, and as women and their families break intergenerational patterns of trauma and abuse, we ask for your help in supporting the women through their success and hardships. Every gift helps us make a difference in the lives of women and children in our local community.
*based on a research study conducted by RTI, Int., Sacramento State’s Institute for Social Research, and CASH