Can you remember what motivated you to take a stand against human trafficking?

Human trafficking is a complex issue that is, unfortunately, frequently misunderstood. Whether through Hollywood’s portrayals or news, many people do not have an accurate view of what human trafficking is and who is most at risk.

In many ways, human trafficking is as much of an economic problem as it is a social justice issue. Traffickers see exploitation as a lucrative supply-and-demand business, with its victims as an expendable commodity.

With an award from the Office of Human Trafficking Prevention and the Louisiana Children’s Trust Fund, Allies Against Slavery will deploy Lighthouse to identify victims of trafficking and visualize statewide trends.

How data is reshaping the movement to end human trafficking and the network of everyday Texans driving it.

Light as a source of hope in the darkness is the inspiration for a new initiative we’re launching called the Lightkeepers Collective!

Light as a source of hope in the darkness is the inspiration for a new initiative we’re launching called the Lightkeepers Collective!

Fort Worth ISD is our largest Lighthouse deployment to date and we could not be more grateful for their leadership in combatting trafficking.

With schools reopening, pumpkin spice products lining the shelves, and (slightly) cooler weather on the horizon, autumn is upon us in Texas! We hope you are enjoying the start to fall as much as we are.

This month more than 5 million kids across Texas are heading back to school, signaling the start of all-too-familiar rituals like carpool lines, lunchboxes, old friends, and new teachers. We share data and resources to help keep kids safe.

One of the most exciting ways our work has grown in 2021 is through increased advocacy during the 87th Texas Legislative session. Read more about one of our staff members’ personal experiences with new policies.

Our team recently had the privilege to visit the Bullock Museum’s exhibit on human trafficking which intentionally highlights survivor’s experiences. We were moved by the information presented, and the powerful stories shared about the importance of survivor leadership.

Are we getting any closer to ending human trafficking? Asking that question set our team on a six-year journey using technology, data, and partnerships to find the answer.

During February, we spent all month sharing on social media about the intersection of race and human trafficking. While data on human trafficking victims is limited, it’s clear that Black people are disproportionately affected.

When COVID 19 made “work-from-home” the new norm for everybody, we realized we had an opportunity with our partners who are on the front lines across the state to rapidly identify victims and manage information in a virtual capacity. This year in review video from the Dropbox Foundation highlights the how the seven Foundation partners, including Allies, navigated a global pandemic in 2020 to continue the fight for human rights.

Thank you for reading this letter and for the many ways that you support, serve, invest and encourage our team and work. You are essential to the ongoing effort to identify the most vulnerable in our society, extract them from the control and influence of human trafficking, and connect them to the appropriate care.

Earlier this month, Allies announced a major advancement in how Texas is using data to free people from human trafficking. After more than a year in development, we unveiled brand new Lighthouse capabilities that make it the only software to aggregate statewide trends, data, and insights in one place — to better serve survivors.

The third installment of our partnership series highlights our work with the Office of the Texas Governor’s Child Sex Trafficking Team (CSTT). In October 2019, the CSTT awarded Allies a grant to expand Lighthouse’s capabilities, enabling the software to aggregate statewide data, trends, and insights in one place. Our two teams are deeply integrated and provide an inspiring example of how public-social sector partnerships can achieve impact at scale.

Partnerships are core to our mission. As we embarked on the Lighthouse data initiative in fall 2019, we established a synergistic partnership with AnnieCannons, an organization which transforms survivors of human trafficking and gender-based violence into software engineers and entrepreneurs. Learn about our journey together over this past year.

Collaboration is part of our DNA and fundamental to our mission. With a small but mighty staff, partnerships enable us to scale our capacity and expertise, and are critical to our success. Here we feature our development partnership with Masterworks, a mission-driven marketing agency with expertise in data science.