FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MARCH 29, 2022 |
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PRESS CONTACT Media@safernj.org |
NJ Anti-Trafficking Organization Wins National Liberator Award
The New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking (NJCAHT) was named the winner of the 2023 Liberator Award for Organization at the Liberator Awards held on March 25 in Columbus, Ohio. The Liberator Awards were created by The S.O.A.P. Project (Save Our Adolescents from Prostitution) to unite people from around the country who are working for the same cause: fighting human trafficking.
Founded in 2011, the NJCAHT, is a volunteer-based nonprofit organization that has helped to pass laws to address human trafficking, produced public service announcements on labor and sex trafficking, lesson plans on human trafficking for middle and high schools, and developed programs to ensure that all professional groups, from healthcare professionals to bankers, know that they play an important role in ending the abuse and exploitation of human trafficking in New Jersey.
“The Coalition has become a model for survivor-informed and inclusive anti-trafficking activism,” said Kate Lee, executive director of the NJCAHT. “That approach wouldn’t have been possible without the tireless efforts of our survivor consultant, Gina Cavallo, in bringing lived experience experts to inform our programming.”
“Having the Coalition receive the National Liberators Award is an incredible and humbling honor,” said Cavallo. “It’s also testimony to the importance of collaboration with other organizations, professionals and survivor experts.”
The Liberator Awards were presented in the following categories: Individual, Volunteer, Organization, Law Enforcement/Public Servant, female and male Survivor of the Year, the Liberator of the Year, and Radical Abolitionist Award. All the proceeds from the Awards Gala went to fund the S.O.A.P. (Save Our Adolescents from Prostitution) outreach initiatives that helps rescue missing children from being trafficked, as well as retreats to help both male and female survivors of human trafficking heal and recover. For more information go to: www.safernj.org and www.liberatorawards.com
About the New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking
The New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking (NJCAHT) is a volunteer-run 501c3 nonprofit that coordinates statewide community efforts to end sex and labor trafficking in New Jersey. Comprising over 150 volunteers and more than 200 affiliates including nonprofits, faith-based organizations, academics, law enforcement, and direct service providers it works to empower communities with the knowledge of what human trafficking is, how to prevent it, and how to support those affected by it.
About S.O.A.P. (Save Our Adolescents from Prostitution)
S.O.A.P. was founded by Theresa Flores, who is an author, advocate, and survivor of human trafficking. On her worst night, after being auctioned off to nearly two dozen men in a dingy, dirty, inner-city Detroit motel, Theresa recalled the only item that would have reached out to her was a bar of soap. With that in mind, she created S.O.A.P. — Save Our Adolescents from Prostitution -- to help reach out to other victims. S.O.A.P. has distributed more than two million bars of soap with the national human trafficking hotline number to thousands of hotels around the country.
