Providing a home for girls

We opened and operated the first safe house in the Southeast region of the United States – Angela's House – for girls ages 11-17 who were in need of critical services and a safe haven from the adults who exploited them. In 2010, youthSpark transitioned Angela's House to the full management of Youth Villages.

Unapologetic awareness

Led by former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, youthSpark (then the Juvenile Justice Fund), law enforcement, and others created the Dear John educational awareness campaign to bring the topic of sex trafficking to the forefront in the community. Shirley Franklin is the first Atlanta mayor to focus on this issue. The Dear John campaign is widely regarded as a historic step by a public official in fearlessly acknowledging the need for a comprehensive approach.

Teaching others to look

Through the launch of the first coordinated statewide awareness effort, our “A Future. Not a Past.” Campaign (AFNAP), youthSpark hosted Georgia's first Lobby Day at the State Capitol, successfully advocating for tougher laws, higher penalties and victim protections. After the successful passage of Senate Bill 69, we trained over 400 mandatory reporters across the state, in partnership with the Junior League of Atlanta and others, on exploitation as a reportable form of child abuse. During this time, we began developing our train-the-trainer program specifically geared towards law enforcement and community volunteers.

Creating a new research methodology

In 2009, we commissioned a nationwide count on victimized children. Shortly after, we commissioned research profiling buyers and the demand for child sex trafficking - The Georgia Demand Study. This initial research methodology and other components of our campaign were replicated nationally through the Women’s Funding Network. Other research studies commissioned over the years include our groundbreaking “Adolescent Males in Metro Atlanta and Their Buyers.”

Training law enforcement

By partnering with officers who routinely investigated these cases, we developed training and education which shifted law enforcement's response to identifying youth appropriately, disrupting practices that led to the adultification of exploited and trafficked minors, victim blaming, and targeting the real perpetrators through demand efforts. We trained 3400+ officers in 51 counties through 2011.

Leading systems change for LGBTQ+ youth

In partnership with Georgia Equality, youthSpark launched the Court's very first training focusing on LGBTQ+ youth. Upon being accepted into Georgetown University's Center for Juvenile Justice Reform Fellowship program, we began to analyze and understand how we can create systemic change. Our four-year capstone project offers a roadmap for evidence-based policies and practices to cultivate a fair, inclusive, and respectful culture in the justice system. This includes a multi-year assessment of LGBTQ+ inclusivity and implementation of non-discrimination policies and trainings for court staff/partners, helping kids identify allies and safe-spaces, and community-based alternatives to incarceration.

More than 600 youth continue to rely on our Youth Services Center for healing, advocacy, and support.