Tonight: Human trafficking survivor at Kepler's

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Now an attorney and author, human trafficking survivor Carissa Phelps will be at Kepler’s tonight to discuss her book, “Runaway Girl: Escaping Life on the Streets One Helping Hand at a Time.”

After she ran away from home at the age of 12, a pimp put her to work on the streets of central California, according to an author biography. Thanks to help from a teacher and a counselor, Ms. Phelps was able to escape that life, going on to graduate from UCLA with a law degree and MBA that she uses as part of a global collective helping survivors of sex trafficking rebuild their lives.

Menlo Park council candidate Catherine Carlton will introduce Ms. Phelps; she said the two women worked with State Assemblyman Sandre Swanson (D-Alameda) to write AB 2040, a human trafficking bill designed to grant relief to victims which was signed into law on Aug. 27.

The free event starts at 7 p.m. at Kepler’s (1010 El Camino Real).

By Sandy Brundage