This book is a journey through the horrific world of gang controlled sexual exploitation. These horrendous crimes has been identified by the United States Congress as a growing scourge upon our nation. There is a clear understanding as it relates to gang controlled sexual exploitation there are no willing participants. There are traffickers, who are predators in whatever form they parade in pimp, boyfriend or gang member. There are victims, the individuals who exchange sexual acts, endure rape and violence, disease and poverty, to earn money for the men, women or family members they work for. This book provides those new to the topic a thorough understanding of what is gang controlled sexual exploitation and those who are seasoned veterans of the topic an up to date and comprehensive look at best practices. To truly understand and work with this population, you must be aware of the complexities to intervene and help.
About the Author: Ms. Patel is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Trauma and Hope. Ms. Patel is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, a Certified Sex Offender Treatment Provider, and a Gang Specialist through the National Gang Crime Research Center. She is a dynamic clinician who has developed an expertise in treating non-voluntary clients, specifically juvenile and adult gang members and sex offenders. Ms. Patel has a unique ability to relate to her clients that has resulted in her having significant success treating her clients. For well over a decade, Ms. Patel has developed a proficient style of work with adolescents who are gang involved. Through her understanding and clinical devotion to her clients, she has widened her competency to establish an Outpatient and Inpatient Sexual Exploitation Treatment Services (SETS) Curriculum. Heather Peck is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, who is Board Certified Diplomate at the national level in clinical social work. She has over 35 years of experience working with trauma, its impact on the emotional and behavioral development of children and adolescents and the building of resilience with extremely high-risk youth. Heather is a pioneer in the human service and behavioral health fields. She has provided leadership in a wide variety of settings including psychiatric, residential and community based setting as an administrator, clinician and trainer. Heather maintained a strength based, trauma informed perspective long before these approaches became mainstream in the profession. She has developed a variety of creative and influential programs for high risk youth, many have become nationally based norms. Always on the cutting edge, Heather can move organizations forward and is an expert in organizational and individual resilience. She has demonstrated expertise in all aspects of an organization from business development, creative clinical programming, workforce training and management. She has been a leader in System of Care development in both the public and private sectors. Heather is a founder of the Resilience Network, LLC and serves as the Director of Clinical Program Development.