🌟 Why We Unplug & Connect

 

Today, more than ever, children—some as young as 8 years old—are being silently targeted and groomed by traffickers through gaming platforms, social media apps, and private messaging. Predators don’t need to lurk in alleyways anymore—they have 24/7 access to our children through their devices.

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According to the San Diego Trafficking Prevention Collective, there are an estimated 3,000 to 8,000 victims of human trafficking in San Diego County at any given time—many of them minors. A joint study by Point Loma Nazarene University and the University of San Diego found that sex trafficking is a $810 million underground industry in San Diego, and most of these kids?​

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• They weren’t kidnapped.

• They were recruited.

• Through conversations that started online.

• Through connection that felt safe—but weren't.​

Unplug & Connect was created to protect what matters most: our children, our families, and the sacred trust between them.

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Before founding Where 2 Or More Gather, our founder spent years in Community Policing, developing gang and violence prevention programs for youth. Even back in the MySpace days, she was warning kids not to overshare online. And yet today, we live in a world where we post not only where we are, but where our kids are, what they’re wearing, and even what they’re eating—sharing it not just with friends and family, but unintentionally, with predators too.

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According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, over 80% of child trafficking survivors were lured online—often through apps we see every day, like Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp, or gaming chats.  We’re not here to shame parents for using technology—we all do.

 

But we are here to help families recognize the need to stay actively involved in their children’s digital lives.  At every Unplug & Connect event, we provide practical tools—resources, conversation starters, and trusted apps to help parents monitor, filter, and reduce online access for potential predators.

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The most powerful protection we can offer our children doesn’t come from technology.  It comes from us.  We must reclaim the power of presence in their lives—To create space for real connection, eye contact, trust, and conversations that build protection from the inside out.​

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When we Unplug & Connect, we gather with intention, love, and presence—we all grow stronger together.

• Let’s unplug.

• Let’s protect.

• Let’s connect.​

​Ready to Unplug & Connect with Purpose?  Sign up for our Next Unplug & Connect Creative Connections workshops.