Funds to help victims of human trafficking in jeopardy


During the roundtable discussion in Simi on Monday, officials also addressed human trafficking. Simi Valley Police Chief David Livingstone said the city has “elements of human trafficking” but not to the same degree as other communities nationwide. He also touched on the issue of illegal activities at some massage parlors and the fact that SVPD has been working to close illegitimate businesses.

Since 2015, Simi Valley had issued licenses to 32 massage establishments and 23 independent off-premise massage business owners and has registered more than 200 practitioners. As of February, there were 19 massage establishments operating in town.

The City Council on Feb. 12 updated its local massage ordinance to include a requirement that establishments are at least 500 feet away from each other. Other new regulations define terms for independently licensed practitioners and bar anyone who’s had their licensed revoked from becoming manager at another location.

“We’re going through a process where we can give people running legitimate businesses the opportunity to operate without being impacted by the illegal places,” Livingstone said Monday.

Erik Sternad, executive director of Camarillobased Interface Children & Family Services, said his biggest concern regarding human trafficking is related to federal funds California receives to operate shelters for trafficked victims.

For the past four years, California used federal money to operate 20 shelters statewide, but that funding is set to run out in April, Sternad said. Once that happens, he said, there will be no states offering a place for trafficked victims to go.

“If we’re not helping the victims, they’ll be picked up by another trafficker because they’re vulnerable,” he said.

McCaul told Sternad there may be some federal grants to help support shelters, but he wasn’t certain that any state funding would be available moving forward.

Whether or not funding is available, Knight said, the No. 1 priority is to remove a trafficked victim from the situation and get them to a safe place.