[photo credit: Lake Avenue Church]
Her church has been working on an answer ever since. The Addison Anti-Trafficking Initiative began in 2024 inside the Missional Outreach ministry at Lake Avenue Church, at 393 North Lake Avenue in Pasadena, and the congregation named it for her after her death. It meets on the second Tuesday of every month to train people to recognize trafficking and respond to it.
The next session runs from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, in campus room HH 401. Eleven more are scheduled through July 13, 2027.
The congregation describes the initiative as an outreach ministry mobilizing believers to confront trafficking locally and globally, with five stated commitments: pray, train, partner with law enforcement and nonprofits, serve survivors, and give. Its stated aim is “Equipping God’s Church to Fight Against Modern Slavery of Human Trafficking.”
Addison grew up at Lake Avenue, attending Sunday school, vacation Bible school, the Club 45 program and youth groups, the church wrote in July 2024. She hoped to become a teacher, therapist or counselor, and she felt strongly about speaking up for people who were marginalized or oppressed, the congregation wrote.
Questions about the series go to Dan Stephenson, who spent 42 years as a trial and appellate attorney, 16 of them representing trafficking survivors without charge, according to his publisher. He retired from law practice in April 2024 and is vice president of global training for ZimZam Global, an overseas church-planting organization, the organization said.
Stephenson wrote in January 2025 that the group meets monthly to pray, study what the Bible says and train members to fight trafficking, and that a survivor identified by a pseudonym had addressed it the previous December. “The church needs to stand in the gap,” he wrote.
Los Angeles County officials have formally tied trafficking risk to disaster recovery. On April 1, 2025, the Board of Supervisors adopted a motion by Supervisor Holly Mitchell titled “Preventing Human Trafficking in the Wake of Natural Disasters.” It passed unanimously and called for a public awareness campaign and training for county staff, the Sunita Jain Anti-Trafficking Initiative at Loyola Marymount University said in a press release.
“January wildfires created tragic levels of destruction and loss of life, homes and jobs,” Mitchell said, according to KNX News. The Eaton Fire destroyed thousands of homes in Altadena, immediately north of Pasadena, in January 2025.
“Disasters create a growing demand for cheap, unprotected labor,” Paloma Bustos, a policy associate at the Sunita Jain initiative, said in its press release.
The 12th annual Operation Reclaim and Rebuild, a statewide sweep conducted January 25 through 31, 2026, produced 611 criminal arrests and rescued 156 adults and 14 children, CBS News Los Angeles reported. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said the operation was about “restoring dignity, safety and hope to people who have been exploited.”
For most events the church reserves its main lot for guests, older adults, people with disabilities and parents with small children, and asks visitors not to park on surrounding residential streets. Admission cost and whether registration is required can be confirmed with Stephenson at dans@zimzamglobal.org or by calling Lake Avenue Church at (626) 844-4700. The National Human Trafficking Hotline is 1-888-373-7888.
Addison asked her parents the question once. Her church has put 11 more evenings on the calendar to keep answering it.
NEED TO KNOW
The Addison Anti-Trafficking Initiative Training Series meets Tuesday, August 11, 2026, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Lake Avenue Church, 393 North Lake Avenue, Pasadena, California 91101, in campus room HH 401. No admission cost and no registration requirement are published for the session, and both should be confirmed with Dan Stephenson at dans@zimzamglobal.org . For parking, the church reserves its main lot for most events for guests, older adults, people with disabilities and parents with small children, and asks visitors not to park on surrounding residential streets, which the Pasadena Police Department patrols for violations; the Gateway Plaza parking structure, a covered multi-story garage at 300 North Lake Avenue across the 210 Freeway, is opened for Sunday morning services and special large events. The series repeats on the second Tuesday of each month through July 13, 2027. For more, call (626) 844-4700 or visit https://lakeave.org/event/372.
