From Exploitation to Restoration:
Our Response to Trafficking on Figueroa Street
A recent New York Times article, “Can Anyone Rescue the Trafficked Girls of L.A.’s Figueroa Street?”, is a gut‑wrenching look at what life is like for minors caught in sex trafficking in one of the country’s most notorious exploitation corridors. The story centers on “the Blade,” a nearly 50‑block stretch of Figueroa Street where traffickers prey on children - some as young as 11 or 12 - and maintain control through violence, drugs, and fear.
The article follows victims like Ana, who at 13 was forced into sex work alongside her sister. She eventually endured years of abuse, addiction, and exploitation - shuffling through motels, living under quotas, and suffering horrific trauma. The piece also highlights the risks and challenges that law‑enforcement officers face: understaffed vice units, limited resources, and shifting laws that make it harder to intervene - even when minors are clearly being exploited.
But beyond exposing the brutal realities, the article offers glimpses of rescue and hope: undercover operations, “juvie rescue ops,” and the beginning of a long, fragile path toward healing for some survivors.
For those of us at NorthEast of the Well, reading this article was like seeing our own work reflected back at us on a broader - and horrifyingly accurate - canvas. What the NYT called “the Blade” is heartbreakingly real. The victims described - children and women trafficked, addicted, broken - are the same people we walk alongside through our outreach, discipleship, and recovery ministries.
Why This Matters to Us
Trafficking and exploitation are not distant headlines - they are happening right in our communities. The NYT article documents how traffickers exploit foster‑care kids, runaways, and young people with no hope or safety net. Many of the women and men we serve came from backgrounds like that.
Rescue is only the beginning. Healing takes intention, time, and community. The article describes rescues and arrests. But for survivors, freedom doesn’t automatically mean “safe.” Many return to the streets because they have nowhere stable to go. That’s why we believe so strongly in long‑term support and discipleship - not just extraction, but restoration.
Spiritual, relational, and practical care is essential. Survivors often come to us broken, traumatized, addicted. Physical rescue without emotional and spiritual care rarely leads to lasting freedom. At NorthEast of the Well, we don’t just “save” people - we walk with them, building a community around Christ where they can find identity, healing, and purpose.
Our Response: Bringing Light Into the Darkness
At NorthEast of the Well, we take the call of the Gospel seriously - even into “the darkest places.”
Through our anti‑human trafficking outreach, we go directly into red‑light districts and the streets of Los Angeles and Orange County to meet survivors where they are.
We offer trauma‑informed training for volunteers and church partners so they can engage safely and compassionately with survivors.
Our ongoing discipleship, Bible studies, and community gatherings create safe spaces for men, women, and children coming out of addiction, exploitation, or incarceration - supporting them in their “after,” not just rescuing them.
Through our Steps to Success job-readiness program, we help survivors build soft skills, find employment, and begin to walk in independence and dignity.
Because of this comprehensive, relational approach, lives are being transformed: people once enslaved by addiction or trafficking are finding freedom, community, purpose, and identity in Christ.
Will You Join Us?
The New York Times article is painful to read - but it’s a necessary reminder that there is still so much darkness out there. And more importantly: there is still hope. Together, we can be the light.
Pray: for those trapped in exploitation, for survivors in recovery, for strength and wisdom for the teams doing outreach.
Serve: whether through outreach teams, gatherings, or discipleship - there are many opportunities to help.
Give: your financial support helps sustain this ministry, bringing the Gospel into dark places and giving survivors a chance to rebuild their lives.
Because of your support, we can continue stepping into the darkest places, offering not just rescue, but real transformation.