Founded in 2014, Gateway Alliance Against Human Trafficking (GAHT) emerged as a direct response to Missouri’s growing role as a trafficking hub—ranked 9th nationally in reported cases. Early on, we recognized that traditional rescue-and-recovery efforts weren’t enough. To truly protect children, we had to get in front of the problem.
GAHT’s founding team, made up of educators, advocates, and survivors, developed the Breaking the Chains of Human Trafficking (BCHT) program—an evidence-based, trauma-informed prevention initiative that equips youth and the adults around them with the tools to recognize, avoid, and respond to exploitation.
In the decade since, GAHT has trained over 75,000 individuals, built long-term partnerships with 60+ regional agencies, and become a statewide leader in trafficking prevention. We’re trusted by public schools, law enforcement, hospitals, youth shelters, and state legislators alike.
What makes GAHT different? We focus upstream—working in classrooms, community centers, and first-responder stations before traffickers reach our kids. We design a culturally responsive curriculum, gather real-time feedback, and constantly adapt based on data and community needs.
Because when prevention is strong, intervention is less necessary—and more children stay safe.
Gateway Alliance Against Human Trafficking (GAHT) delivers its prevention work through four interconnected program tracks that serve both youth and adults across Missouri:
1. PREPyouth Curriculum (Youth, Ages 10–18): Delivered in middle and high schools, this age-appropriate curriculum teaches students how to recognize grooming tactics, false promises, and social media recruitment strategies used by traffickers. Lessons focus on digital safety, online sextortion, and building healthy boundaries.
2. ConnectU (Youth, Ages 10–18): A relationship-centered curriculum that builds social-emotional skills to help students identify healthy or toxic relationships, resist manipulation, and develop self-advocacy.
3. Professional Development (Adults, 18+): Targeted workshops for educators, counselors, first responders, foster care providers, and social workers. Training equips mandated reporters to spot red flags, understand trauma responses, and act quickly and appropriately.
4. Community Awareness & Caregiver Training: Interactive sessions for parents, caregivers, and community leaders that focus on digital exploitation, child protection, and how to report trafficking concerns.
By the numbers in 2024:
- 11,269 individuals trained
- 173 presentations delivered in schools, shelters, clinics, EMS and First Responders, and community centers
- 217 volunteers engaged
What community needs will be addressed by the organization with this grant? Why is this significant?
St. Louis is one of Missouri’s highest-risk regions for child trafficking, yet prevention education remains fragmented or entirely absent in many public schools. According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, 44% of trafficking victims in Missouri are children—and 63% of unhoused youth are approached by traffickers within 48 hours of homelessness.
Despite these alarming numbers, most youth-serving professionals—teachers, social workers, ER staff—have never received formal trafficking identification training. Less than 5% of emergency personnel are trained to recognize signs of trafficking, even though 88% of victims interact with medical services while being exploited. This gap is both dangerous and preventable.
Prevention is the most cost-effective and humane strategy we have. Early education reduces the likelihood of exploitation, mitigates long-term trauma, and strengthens protective factors around kids. Your donation allows GAHT to continue providing trauma-informed programming in under-resourced school districts and expand training to the adults who are often the last line of defense.
This work saves lives—and stops trafficking before it starts.