Safety Compass Leads “Light Up the Night” Outreach on 82nd Avenue to Advance Safety and Support for Vulnerable Community Members
Portland, OR – Light Up the Night, an outreach event coordinated by Safety Compass, brought together community partners and first responders yesterday along 82nd Avenue in Multnomah & Clackamas Counties.
The mission was organized to extend essential services and confidential advocates to individuals vulnerable to violence along the 82nd ave corridor, and to reduce barriers to accessing resources. Service providers in Clackamas County held a resource fair at the Clackamas Service Center to strengthen a coordinated, survivor-centered response along one of Oregon’s most active trafficking environments. In Multnomah County, service providers and Portland Police Bureau provided outreach as well. The goal was to ensure that individuals at risk of exploitation and human trafficking could have immediate access to pathways to safety, support, advocacy, and other critical services.
The Light Up the Night resource fair also offered basic needs supplies, on-site medical care, as well as transportation to detox, emergency medical care, or emergency shelter when needed. Participants included Safety Compass, Clackamas Service Center, Love One, 4D Recovery, Central City Concern, Omega NW, Counterculture Church, and Clackamas County Office of Public Health Emergency Services Community Paramedics personnel.
Separately, the Milwaukie Police Department addressed a key root cause of sex trafficking through a law enforcement-led mission to arrest and cite sex buyers (also known as the “demand” side of that economy). Light Up the Night was made possible through the collaboration of the Clackamas County Human Trafficking Task Force, Service Providers, and the Portland Police Bureau Human Trafficking Unit.
What inspired Light Up the Night?
One of the most well-known early Take Back the Night events took place in San Francisco in 1978 and was organized in response to the murder of individuals who were for sale in the sex trade, by a serial killer. These crimes exposed deep social biases; the deaths of those involved in the sex industry often received less public attention or urgency from the public at large. Inspired by that legacy, which grew out of the late-1970s movement opposing violence against women, Light Up the Night affirms that every person deserves safety and dignity. Held during Human Trafficking Awareness Month, the event reinforced the community’s commitment to showing up for those who are too often overlooked or marginalized.
Safety Compass and its partners will continue coordinated outreach along the corridor throughout the year to ensure consistent access to compassionate services and confidential advocacy.
If you suspect human trafficking, please call your local law enforcement non-emergency dispatch. If you or someone you know is a survivor of human trafficking of commercial sexual exploitation in immediate need of support, call the Safety Compass 24/7 support line to speak with a confidential advocate at 971-235-0021.
Media Contact:
Chelsey Passon
Manager of Communications, Safety Compass
chelseys@safetycompass.org
(503) 569-8512
