Rethink Resources

Weekly updates on news articles of note:

An Arizona State University news article talks about the invisibility of homeless youth and explains a little of the culture and communities of homeless youth. I always appreciate it when media reports try to explore some of the complexities of a situation. Just like for youth in the sex trade (and clearly that overlaps with youth without stable housing), it’s more than just one experience. And street youth build community with other street youth and have strong affiliations from shared ideas or experiences.

Oh and if you needed another reason to hate the store Hot Topic - here’s something reported by one homeless youth.

“Some Hot Topic stores in California now carry spray-on “Train Grease” so kids can look homeless without actually sleeping on the street or riding the rails”

Local law enforcement responses are highlighted in Atlanta and Arizona where police and courts are making arrests and bringing convictions on people who make money off of and force youth into the sex trade. And federal authorities are doing the same in Boston and Minneapolis.

I mentioned in an earlier post about how I’m skeptical of criminal charges against young women who only a couple years earlier were minors. It reminds me of how many women are convicted of crimes and receive more serious sentences than many male co-defendants because they have fewer people to give up in plea bargain negotiations.

But as one of this week’s news items shows and other links, women can and do play a serious role in using and abusing youth in the sex trade and I don’t want to diminish that. It’s complicated how that plays out in the big picture but it’s real.

Homeless find a home on Mill Ave.: Tempe’s young homeless are a downtown fixture even if passersby choose not to acknowledge them (Arizona) Tuesday, May 1, 2007 Tempe’s young homeless are a staple of the downtown area. This loose-knit community of outcasts, rebels and train-hoppers operates on the fringes of mainstream society.

Minneapolis man pleads guilty in sex trafficking of Rogers teenager (Minneapolis) Tuesday, May 1, 2007 A Minneapolis man with a history of sex trafficking and violent crimes pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court to trafficking a 16-year-old Rogers girl.

4 accused of prostituting “throwaway” teens in Phoenix (Arizona) Tuesday, May 1, 2007 Four men have been taken into custody on suspicion of prostituting two girls, ages 13 and 17, Phoenix police said Monday.

Chelsea woman sentenced in child prostitution case (Massachusetts) Saturday, April 28, 2007 A Chelsea woman was sentenced to nine years in prison yesterday for her part in running a prostitution ring that supplied females as young as 13 to customers in Boston and New York City, according to US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan.

Crusaders against predators fill court: Man gets 10 years in child sex case (Atlanta) Friday April 27, 2007 Crusaders against child prostitution, including a representative of Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, filed into a Fulton County courtroom Thursday for the sentencing of a man convicted this month of soliciting a 15-year-old girl for sex and for imprisoning her. The victim, Samantha Walker, a former runaway and former teen prostitute, also showed up. She’s 18 now and lives in Toledo, Ohio. “I need for you to make this right,” she told the judge