Not A Number: An interactive youth trafficking and exploitation prevention classroom curriculum

Conference Theme: School Empowerment

Session Description

Not A Number is a highly interactive curriculum by Love146 that teaches youth how to protect themselves from human trafficking and exploitation through information, critical thinking, and skill development. The content of Not A Number is presented in a manner that inspires youth to make safe choices and utilize healthy support systems by not focusing on one particular aspect of the issue, but instead taking a holistic approach focusing on respect, empathy, individual strengths, and the relationship between personal and societal pressures that create or increase vulnerabilities that can be exploited. Designed for ages 12-18, including male, female, and youth that identify as LGBTQ, the curriculum is designed for primary and secondary prevention and early identification for vulnerabilities and exploitation. Schools, child welfare and juvenile justice agencies have utilized Not A Number successfully and it can also be used by community-based youth organizations and programs in their settings.

Session Objectives

Participants will

1. Define key terms: exploitation, human trafficking, vulnerability.
2. Recognize who can be affected by human trafficking and exploitation, and the strategies that traffickers/exploiters employ.
3. Analyze how social and cultural norms influence healthy and unhealthy choices.
4. Challenge stereotypes and judgments we make of individuals in society.
5. Understand present laws regarding technology, messaging, and social media use.
6. Learn how to recognize unhealthy relationships and build healthy relationships by analyzing examples of both, identifying characteristics and red flags, and recognizing abusive behavior.
7. Understand the power of language by reflecting on its impact on their individual self-worth and how hurtful words can increase one’s vulnerability.
8. Identify personal and peer risk factors by looking at examples of individual, relationship, community, and social vulnerabilities.
9. Identify healthy support systems (peers, adults, and community) and how to utilize an array of services available to the,m including safe spaces, hotlines, health and dating violence services.

Presenter

Allan Bakke, Southwest Crisis Center

Allan Bakke is the Southwest MN Safe Harbor Regional Navigator at the Southwest Crisis Center serving 11 counties across southwest MN. He is a lifelong advocate for human rights issues and has served as a Lutheran Pastor, Big Buddies Program Director, and Development Director for a Community Action Agency.

As the Regional Navigator for Southwest MN, Allan serves as a point of contact for professionals and sexually exploited/trafficked youth to access appropriate services. He is responsible for facilitating the process of improving the community response for at-risk and sexually exploited/trafficked youth at local, county, and state systems levels, which includes community assessment and resource identification, training systems professionals, making and receiving referrals, case consultation, protocol development, and developing a coordinated community response.

Stephanie Darnell, Southwest Crisis Center

Stephanie Darnell is the Youth Program Manager at the Southwest Crisis Center, where she has worked for nearly eight years. She graduated from South Dakota State University with a degree in human development and family studies.

Before joining the Crisis Center, she worked in South Dakota at a domestic violence shelter and on a crisis line, where she answered various hotlines, including the Suicide Helpline. These experiences strengthened her passion for supporting others. She is especially passionate about working with youth, where she sees them as honest, open, and brings a unique energy that she finds incredibly rewarding. In her current role, Stephanie strives to empower young people by providing resources, education, and a supportive space where they feel valued and heard. Stephanie learns something new every day while being able to make a difference in their lives.