The annual "Ride for A Cause" is a Social Justice and Human Rights Initiative addressing gender equality issues including human trafficking and domestic violence, services for children with incarcerated parents, youth aging out of foster care, and children in homeless shelters. Established in 2017 by the members of the Psi Upsilon Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., The Pearls of He
nderson Foundation (TPOHF), provides quality programs and services designed to make a significant difference in the lives of southern Nevadans. Through its programs of service, TPOHF supports cultural enrichment; scholastic achievement; charitable work; and advocates for a comprehensive quality of life in Henderson and southern Nevada residents. About Child Trafficking:
Across the globe, traffickers buy and sell children, exploiting them for sex and forced labor, and moving them across international borders. Child victims are trafficked into the United States from Africa, Asia, Central and South America, and Eastern Europe. In the United States, children are subjected to human trafficking in many different sectors. Examples include prostitution on the streets or in a private residence, club, hotel, spa, or massage parlor; online commercial sexual exploitation; exotic dancing/stripping; agricultural, factory, or meatpacking work; construction; domestic labor in a home; restaurant/bar work; illegal drug trade; door-to-door sales, street peddling, or begging; or hair, nail, and beauty salons. Family members, acquaintances, pimps, employers, smugglers, and strangers traffic children. They often prey upon the children’s vulnerabilities – their hopes for an education, a job, or a better life in another country – and may use psychological intimidation or violence to control the children and gain financial benefits from their exploitation. Trafficked children may show signs of shame or disorientation; be hungry and malnourished; experience traumatic bonding (Stockholm syndrome) and fear government officials, such as police and immigration officers.