Central Valley Nonprofits Combat Local Human Trafficking Crisis

Human trafficking is an epidemic in the Central Valley due to the region’s centralized location between Los Angeles and San Francisco and the numerous interconnected freeways. In 2025, there were 24 human trafficking related cases filed by the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office.  

Many local nonprofits work tirelessly to change the narrative for victims of human trafficking and raise awareness of this horrific, widespread tragedy. 

The Central Valley Justice Coalition (CVJC) partners with various churches and the community to prevent human trafficking. Christa Wiens started as a volunteer updating spreadsheets and now serves as CVJC’s executive director. Christa’s mission is to educate the public about human trafficking. She created a comprehensive, self-paced curriculum with one course offered at Fresno Pacific University’s Center for Online Learning, and the remainder of the courses linked on CJVC’s website. “We need people everywhere to get quality education from people who are doing the work in their community,” Christa said. 

CVCJ has worked to combat misconceptions, particularly that human trafficking only affects certain populations. “People believe trafficking won’t happen in their neighborhood, in their school, and happens in some far-off place,” Christa said. “Most people believe that human trafficking is only sex trafficking, but in the Valley, there is a significant amount of labor trafficking that goes unreported.” 

Co-founder of Breaking the Chains Tiffany Apodaca illuminated the importance of educating youths to prevent trafficking incidents. She shared a reported occurrence of teenage boys, recruited by traffickers, who have approached teenage girls at Fashion Fair Mall, giving them the cell phone numbers of traffickers. The teenage girls are then unknowingly texting traffickers, believing they are sending texts to the teenage boys they met at the mall.  

Tiffany underscored that victims must be shown compassion and not criminalized. “The big elephant in the room is people assuming that others are self-exploiting themselves for a drug habit or their own desires and not as victims. The person you see on the corner might not be who you perceive them as,” she said.  

To identify potential trafficking incidents, parents and caregivers need to pay attention to their children’s possessions. Children with random cell phones, perfume, and other luxurious gifts could indicate that a trafficker is interacting with them. “If you see something indicative of human trafficking, say something,” Tiffany said. She advises against interfering with an unknown, potential trafficking victim, however. If someone tries to intervene to rescue the victim and the plan fails, the victim may be further punished by the trafficker. Instead, call the Fresno Police Department tip hotline at 559-621-5950 and report what you saw and when it occurred.  

Over the past 10 years, CVJC has trained over 35,000 people – including 2,500 people in 2025 alone – and helped 50 individuals in the past year. One of the victims assisted by the coalition first sought help seven years ago and was finally able to leave the trafficking situation she was entrapped in two years ago. She became employed and received treatment for addiction after seeking help from the coalition. “She is a bright light in the world. I’m astounded that she has not only survived but is thriving and has made a positive impact in her neighborhood and shown resiliency and optimism,” Christa said.  

It’s often difficult for victims to leave the entrapment of trafficking due to fearing what their unknown, future circumstances may be. “People who have experienced trafficking have survived deep trauma. The way trauma impacts the brain makes decision-making difficult,” Christa explained. “People in the victims’ past have not been on their side, so why on earth would they trust help from other entities. They need to leave their trafficker, so the coalition can prove we’re who we say we are.” 

For Christa, helping human trafficking victims is incredibly rewarding. “I’m proud that we have been able to give good information and walk alongside those who have been impacted by some of the worst things imaginable and the way these individuals now impact the community as a result of that healing,” she said. 

Christa encourages those interested in donating to anti-trafficking nonprofits to become familiar with organizations’ work. “I would encourage people to ask good questions as donors about the financial transparency of the organization to feel comfortable contributing to the general budget. Then trust the organization to know how it is best used,” she said. Volunteers of all skillsets are also essential to an organization’s ability to carry out its mission. “Organizations’ staff members don’t know what you’re good at, but you do and we’re happy to have you,” she said. “I wish we had people saying, ‘I just want to come in and learn and see what you’re doing,’ and we’ll figure it out together.” 

To donate, volunteer, or receive more information on local anti-trafficking nonprofits, please call CVCF at 559-226-5600 or email donorservices@centralvalleycf.org.