Peoria Times - 1.27.2022

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INSIDE

This Week

NEWS..............6 PUSD superintendent sought for 2 more years

BUSINESS .... 14 Home prices increase as inventory remains low

OPINION.................... 10 BUSINESS.................. 14 SPORTS...................... 17 FEATURES.................. 18 RELIGION................... 21 CLASSIFIEDS.............. 23

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January 27, 2022

Peoria’s Hometown Newspaper

Human trafficking group seeks growth BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Peoria Times Staff Writer

The Dream City Foundation will hold a Stop Traffic Walk fundraiser to support human trafficking recovery in Arizona at the Peoria Sports Complex from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 29. This is the third year the group has held the walk, and the second time at the Peoria Sports Complex. “It’s just a fantastic facility. They’re easy to work with,” Dream City Foundation Executive Director Jeff May said of the group’s choice of Peoria to host the event. May said the walk is more than a fundraiser: The foundation also wants to raise awareness for the problem of human trafficking. The group hopes to make a difficult subject easier to talk about openly by creating a free, fun family event with activ-

ities like face painting and bounce houses. Increasing awareness is important, May said, because contrary to popular assumptions, victims of sex trafficking come from all demographics, and sexual exploitation occurs in all parts of the Valley. May said COVID-19 has created new challenges in the fight against trafficking, as people started spending more time on social media, where many traffickers attempt to groom victims. He cited an 8% increase in attempts to recruit people for trafficking and a 40% increase in trafficking activity. The Phoenix Dream Center is one of three recovery centers in Arizona operated by the Where Hope Lives network and supported by the Dream City Foundation. It serves victims of human trafficking ages 18 and above; another center, Streetlight USA, serves girls and boys under 18; and the third, Short Creek Dream Center, spe-

cializes in familial trafficking, which includes forced marriages of underage girls as practiced in the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-day Saints based in the towns of Colorado City and Hildale on the Utah/Arizona border. Where Hope Lives says it serves about 200 sex trafficking survivors each year. Chief Development Officer Carlos Daniel said the Phoenix Dream Center spends about $46,000 in services for each resident. Costs are higher for the Streetlight USA program, because serving minors requires extra resources. The Dream City Foundation purchased the Phoenix Dream Center building, previously an Embassy Suites hotel, in 2006 to fight homelessness and addiction. The group added the human trafficking wing in SEE TRAFFICKING PAGE 4

Coalition blazes drug- and alcohol-free trail for youth BY BRIDGETTE M. REDMAN Peoria Times Contributing Writer

Keeping teens safe and alive is a community effort, especially when it comes to protecting them from addiction and overdoses. To do so, several community groups have formed Peoria Primary Prevention Coalition, also known as 3PC, to reduce alcohol, marijuana and prescription drug abuse in the city. The coalition encourages

youth to make good decisions. The coalition was founded after the Arizona National Guard found prevention programming was lacking in Peoria. Funded by Blue Cross Blue Shield/Mobilize AZ, the members include Youth4Youth, Way Out West Coalition, Arizona National Guard Drug Demand Reduction Outreach, Peoria Police Department and city of Peoria. They host meetings at 10 a.m. the third Tuesday of every month at the Rio Vista

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Recreation Center with youth, parents, business, media, schools, community organizations, law enforcement, faith-based organizations, health care professionals, first responders and government. Larry Tracey, the Youth4Youth executive director, said the organization is investigating the substances kids are using. That will lead to awareness. Parent education is a key piece of it. SEE COALITION PAGE 8


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