Last month, a study was published on behalf of CAST (Coalition Against Sex Trafficking in Los Angeles) completed in collaboration with Ethan Levine from CAST and Dr. David Smith from Mercy Lab Foundation. This study’s focus was to measure the impact of services for the clients of CAST over a period of time.
The premise of the study was to first acknowledge that human trafficking can have lasting impacts on the lives of survivors mentally, physically, legally, and in multiple other ways. The question that was asked is, “How do we know whether our services are working?” and also, “What does meaningful improvement look like?”
The key takeaways from the project were that the value of long-term services depend on many factors. Some clients report that they have experienced improvements fairly quickly, but other clients do not experience a measurable improvement for several months.
This information reflects the value of providing long term and consistent services for survivors.
The study also showed that if an organization changes the approach, it may be observed that the experience that the clients have regarding improvement may change, which may also indicate that the services have become more effective at meeting the needs than before.
CAST—LA currently provides services for survivors of labor and sex trafficking in the Los Angeles area. The organization is able to provide safe housing, legal representation, and connection to services.