Dead end of exploitation

Today, turning out street predators

YouthCare would like to praise The Seattle Times for giving attention to and bringing to light the problem of juvenile prostitution, and the efforts of state Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, and Seattle City Councilmember Nick Licata, to find funding for supporting a safety net of services for the young victims in "Prostitute,15, couldn't find help to get out" [Times, page one, Feb. 26].

Although pimps are luring young girls into this work, exploiting them and stealing their childhood, these men (and occasionally women) are entrepreneurs filling a demand in the market, and the men who pay for illicit sex with underage girls also need to be pursued and prosecuted.

At YouthCare, we offer emergency shelter and other targeted services for young girls exiting prostitution. We have been working with youths who are forced into prostitution and we are frightened by the growth in the business of teen prostitution.

In April, YouthCare is convening a summit for a group of professionals working on this issue to discuss the growing crisis of juvenile prostitution and to brainstorm potential solutions. We will have social workers, judges, members of law enforcement, workers in adolescent health and detention, and local network members who have been quietly addressing these issues for years. Our goal is to share our experiences and best practices and develop a more effective response for girls victimized by pimps and johns.

Resources to outreach on the streets and emergency housing services for these young women and men have dried up over the past 10 years. Without the ability to find these young people, we will continue to watch them slip through the cracks and be lost to the very dark world portrayed in The Seattle Times. It will take a community response to solve this silent crisis and provide a safety net for our most vulnerable citizens.

Melinda Giovengo is executive director of YouthCare in Seattle.