Sunday Mornings with Rania: When Kids are Targeted by Traffickers

She was a quiet 13-year-old who had recently lost her brother and was making her way through a difficult time. Sadly, she became the target of a trafficker who kidnapped her, raped her, drugged her and sold her. He was arrested not too long ago, but released three days later on misdemeanor drug charges. Released right back into our community, he allegedly went right back to trafficking Letty as well as another young girl. Desperate, depressed and damaged, Letty took her own life last week. She was only 15 years old. Deep down, there are some who still think that teens who are trafficked are bad kids making bad choices. But they are not. Often, they are good kids caught up by things beyond their control. I posted about Letty, sat down with partners at KTRK to talk about her story and what it meant for all of us… the outpouring of responses has led to this post. So many asked me what we can and must do to stop the sex trafficking of minors. Here are some recommendations but I want to hear from you too, what do you think and what can we do better? Understand what sex […]

Teen Vaping

Is there a rapid number of teens using vapes today? The answer is absolutely- yes! Many experts are diving deep into this issue to notify parents, schools and law enforcement how to properly handle this rising problem. At Crime Stoppers, the Safe School team hear from students, administrators and campus police how vaping influences teens day to day lives. This post will discuss the popularity of vaping, problems schools are facing, what chemicals teens are actually ingesting and the laws teens face when choosing to participate. First and foremost, why is vaping to popular with youth? Vapes come in many shapes and sizes. But most teens like smaller vapes that can fit into their fist. Small vapes are easy to conceal, therefore easy to hide from parents and teachers in plain sight. The vape juice can also be flavored. There is tabaco flavored juice, as well as mango, mint, crème, fruit and cucumber to name a few. Vapes are reusable, unlike cigarettes. The nicotine levels in vapes are extremely high, therefore you can become addicted very quickly. Nicotine is the most addictive substance in the world and unfortunately students are unaware of this and chose to try vaping before making […]