Human trafficking survivors across the United States find themselves in legal deserts without access to trauma-informed legal services . Current efforts to address these legal deserts, while laudable, are but a mirage. These deserts must be watered with resources, funding, ...

Job training and workforce readiness programs are common across the US for equipping individuals in marginalized communities with the skills and social supports to enter the traditional workforce. While models and populations served vary widely, the common goal is to ...

Megan Lundstrom, M.A. CO-FOUNDER An "Uneventful" Afternoon On Thursday, December 1st, 2022, I had a slow-paced day but nothing out of the ordinary.  I took my children to school and straightened up the house before turning to work tasks.  In ...

Since sex trafficking is an illegal enterprise, accounting for the cost of risk should any involved party be arrested, convicted, and fined is key. Further, it can help policymakers, law enforcement, prosecutors, and others approach this industry more efficiently - ...

Megan Lundstrom, M.A. DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH Hi there, and welcome to The Avery Center. Nearly a year ago, Jessa and I were standing on the corner of the street in downtown Denver on a drizzly fall morning. We had decided ...

The Avery Center for Research and Services' Avery Seal Team conducted a formal program evaluation on Made for Them's ten- year anniversary during March of 2022 to August of 2022. The formal purpose of this evaluation was to conduct an ...

Sex traffickers manipulate their victims through force, fraud, and coercion into performing sexual acts in exchange for something of value. Often, traffickers use addictive substances to recruit and manipulate their victims into compliance. Less is known about how different types ...

ACAMS Today, the magazine for career-minded professionals in the anti-money laundering field, speaks with Megan Lundstrom, co-founder and CEO at The Avery Center (TAC). They discuss what led to the formation of TAC, Megan's personal human trafficking experience and how ...

Reliable data on the scope of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) is difficult to access; most reports rely on law-enforcement or health care interactions with sex trafficking victims, victims who reach out for services post-exploitation, or other non-governmental organization estimates. What's ...

Brooke Darden speaks with Co-Founder Megan Lundstrom about The Avery Center, creating awareness about sex trafficking, and more. Listen to the podcast here or click through to Rattling the Chains: Breaking Through the Miscommunication of Sex Trafficking   Direct Link ...

Pimp-controlled sex trafficking in the United States often situates a male trafficker at the top of the organization, with a female "bottom girl" as second-in-command. This victim occupies the position of victim-offender, where she is simultaneously being victimized by a ...

Though the OnlyFans online social platform became wildly popular in early 2020, it has been around since 2016. This rapid rise to fame corresponded with the 2020 COVID-19 widespread shelter orders and layoffs that disproportionately impacted young people employed in ...

Human trafficking victims who are exploited in the commercial sex industry are highly likely to be arrested for offenses catalyzed by their victimization. The resulting criminal records shadow survivors out of trafficking and serve as barriers to achieving sustainable independence. ...

Megan Lundstrom understands more than most the conditions that force women into dangerous situations-she also has the key to help them escape. There are three types of pimps: the boyfriend pimp, the CEO pimp, and the gorilla pimp. Megan will ...

We're pleased to share these reports from a collaborative project between co-founder Megan Lundstrom and Jennifer Roman-Martin, LICSW, both consultants for the Human Trafficking Expert Consultant Network. This report was funded by and created for the U.S. State Department's Office ...

Desperate for financial stability, Megan was persuaded into sugar dating, thinking it would solve her problems. The exploitation and trafficking that followed are characteristic of so many women's experiences. Full story at Fight the New Drug. Read the Full Article ...

Sex trafficking is real, and it can happen to anyone. Megan Lundstrom was an honor student with big college plans, but then life forced her down a different, dangerous and devastating path. Watch the video here or click through to ...

We dive right into our interview with Megan Lundstrom, the Director of research for the Avery Center in Greeley. We take a deep dive into sex trafficking in northern Colorado. Megan takes us through what the Avery Center is about, ...

Megan's harrowing experience becoming a sex-trafficking victim, ultimately escaping years later, and what it took to rebuild her life - and her identity - from the ground up. We discuss the trauma involved in sex-trafficking and how it still impacts ...

Jenny Footle Positive Impacts of Fitness and Wellness Programming for Survivors of Human Trafficking While walking alongside survivors of trafficking, it is imperative that we offer holistic health services. We are becoming increasingly aware of the nature of trauma and ...

Financial institutions are in a unique position to detect, disrupt, and prevent the illegal profits generated by human trafficking. But just because it may be possible to detect potential trafficking through financial records does not mean it is easy. Trafficking ...

Learning about The Other Board When first starting this project, I had only a little bit of knowledge of sex trafficking and all it entailed. I gained an internship opportunity with The Avery Center inputting data from TheOtherBoard.com (TOB). I ...

The Dichotomy Is Flawed I have been involved in the anti-trafficking movement for several years, walking alongside survivors and those I lovingly refer to as "powerfrau" women leaders, along with some outstanding male allies as well. Over the course of ...

We are so lucky to have such great interns working for The Avery Center! Marissa, who has been volunteering her time and interning with us for almost a year wrote about her experience. We hope you enjoy: More about Marissa: ...

The Avery Center expands services for sex trafficking survivors in Northern Colorado with funding from the Department of Health and Human Services. The Avery Center (TAC) has been awarded another federal grant in 2020. This time funding is coming from ...

Some anti-human-trafficking activists quote jaw-dropping statistics to define the scope of the problem and publicize details of horrific individual cases involving children, to evoke outrage and inspire public reaction. The issue of sex trafficking and the exploitation of children is ...

Megan Lundstrom, M.A. DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH The other morning, I pulled a coffee cup out of the dishwasher, only to discover it was still dirty – covered with tiny baked-on food particles after going through a full wash cycle with ...

by Melanie Thompson Youth Outreach Coordinator at the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women It is no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has our country in turmoil. Many Americans have lost their jobs, schools have temporarily shut down, businesses are financially ...

Megan Lundstrom, M.A. DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH Research Results: Impacts of COVID-19 from a Community Feedback Survey While the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic at the local, national and global levels will not be fully understand for several years, most of ...

The oil and gas industry in northern Colorado is where most people are trafficked because of the high demand of commercial sex. Trucking allows incoming clients at truck stops to gain access to victims. During ski season, victims are trafficked ...

Human trafficking is something many people may not think happens in their own hometown. Megan Lundstrom introduces us to her team's work helping survivors of human trafficking in Northern Colorado. Listen here or click through to YouTube. Listen Now » ...

People often think of human trafficking as victims from other countries packed into shipping containers and sold against their will. Stories such as Lundstrom's are far more common. Read the full article Sex Trafficking in Weld: Greeley Central graduate, Windsor ...

Angie Henderson, Ph.D. Megan Lundstrom, M.A. Introduction & Background The COVID-19 Pandemic has undoubtedly impacted the ability for individuals to exit the commercial sex trade.  Prostituted persons’ ability to meet their quota has been severely restricted by widespread lockdowns.  To ...

With over a decade of combined lived experience, direct service provision, and academic research, The Avery Center co-founder Megan Lundstrom offers case studies, pilot project analyses, mathematical models, and framework created between 2015-2018 aimed at equipping professionals (such as first ...

Ask Megan Lundstrom how she reacts to those who believe prostitution is a victimless crime and her response fierce and swift. "That's totally uninformed, and it really gets my hackles up," says Lundstrom. "As a young adult and single mom, ...

Bridging public, private and not-for-profit sectors worldwide, IBM makes technology such as Watson Discovery and Natural Language Processing available to help fight human trafficking. The Avery Center for Research & Services will be collaborating with the IBM Traffik Analysis Hub ...

Chief Chat is a discussion with those in the arena who work hard every day to make sure their communities are safer and more inclusive for everyone. Join Fort Collins Police Chief Jeff Swoboda and Neighborhood Enforcement Team Officer Rob ...

Survivor leaders from across the county convened at the Inn at Villanova to lead a series of workshops ranging from a discussion on historical and contemporary manifestations of oppression, to an exploration of social media's role in recruitment, to trauma-informed ...

Sex trafficking research has been plagued by the lack of reliable data, limiting the ways we understand the billion-dollar industry. To remedy this, Angie conducted in-depth interviews with over 50 women across North America who identified as survivors or current ...

The Avery Center co-founder Dr. Angie Henderson discusses how data collection contributes to learning about the sex trafficking industry in Northern Colorado and across the United States. Listen Now » Back to News

Every month, The Avery Center sends out hundreds of care packages. The women who receive them are some of the hundreds Megan Lundstrom connects with via social media, trying to help them see their own worth and escape "the life." ...