Senator Janet Nguyen is joining forces with her senate colleagues in an effort to increase the comprehensive services offered to the victims of human trafficking. Together the senators are calling for a $15 million budget that would serve over 600 victims a year and provide them with case management, shelter, basic needs and legal services, among other things.

Senator Janet Nguyen, whose 34th district includes Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, Westminster and parts of Long Beach, co-signed the letter to Budget Subcommittee 4 with Patricia Bates (R – Laguna Niguel), Jean Fuller (R – Bakersfield) and Sharon Runner (R – Antelope Valley).

According to the 2012 California Attorney General’s “State of Human Trafficking in California” report, the number of people identified as human trafficking victims is continuously rising. Los Angeles alone saw an 80 percent increase in calls from victims between 2012 and 2013, while San Francisco saw a 20 percent increase.

“Human trafficking has developed into a seriously troubling underground industry in California,” Senator Nguyen said in a statement. “As an advocate for human rights, I am deeply troubled by its precipitous rise in our State. We cannot stand idle while this happens, our State agencies and community organizations need all the tools to help eradicate this ill and aid its victims.”

In 2014, the State Legislature approved $10 million in one-time funding that granted services to 500 survivors in California over a two year period.