Restoration Diversion Services (RDS) is a nonprofit organization based in Compton, California, dedicated to helping victims of human sex trafficking, particularly young women who are homeless and trapped in a cycle of exploitation. The organization operates in an area known as “the blade,” a dangerous and crime-ridden stretch of about 1.5 miles notorious for trafficking. Many of the women found there are not simply engaging in sex work by choice but are victims—often teenagers to young adults—who have been coerced, abused, and stripped of their identities by traffickers.
Deatra Handy, a former public office candidate in Compton, first became involved in this cause in 2009 when she attended a neighborhood meeting where law enforcement officers discussed cracking down on prostitution by incarcerating those involved.
Rather than focusing on punitive measures, Deatra questioned why there wasn’t a program aimed at providing these women with the resources they needed to escape the cycle of trafficking and rebuild their lives. That moment marked the beginning of her long-standing fight against human trafficking.
When a young woman expresses a desire to leave her situation, RDS immediately takes action. The first step is often securing a motel room for temporary safety, followed by placement in a reliable shelter, and eventually, transition into a permanent, stable home.
Over the past year, RDS has interacted with more than 100 women, and so far, 11 women have successfully transitioned into new, safer lives.
Located in the heart of the trafficking activity, RDS serves as a safe haven for those in need. The facility offers a place where young women can walk in, seek help, and receive necessary supplies. More importantly, it provides a lifeline for those who want to escape their circumstances. The organization offers assistance with paperwork, including helping victims obtain identification documents such as birth certificates and driver’s licenses, which traffickers often take away to control their victims.
RDS also partners with Compton College to help survivors apply for financial aid and enroll in education programs.
Beyond immediate rescue efforts, RDS provides practical resources to those in need, including gift cards for food and lodging, ChapStick, pepper spray for self-defense, hand warmers, clothing, shoes, water, soda, and snacks. The organization also helps survivors apply for compensation from the California Crime Victim’s Fund. Additionally, RDS offers a four-week workshop focused on financial planning and life skills to equip survivors with the tools needed for independence.
Today, thanks to a three-year grant from the Department of Justice, RDS has been able to bring on two part-time staff members to assist Deatra with its growing efforts. Alongside Pamela Bryant, the Executive Director of RDS, Keyla Brown, a dedicated and dynamic advocate continues RDS' mission. The organization operates three days a week—Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.—with hopes of expanding to five days a week.
Though the exterior of RDS may not appear particularly inviting, the inside is designed to be warm and welcoming, featuring a comfortable restroom with a shower. The goal is to create an environment where victims feel safe, supported, and encouraged to pursue a new path.
Community support has been crucial in sustaining and expanding RDS’s efforts. Donations, both financial and material, are always welcome to help further the cause.
The Hawthorne Kiwanis Club and a team of volunteers recently built an outdoor storage shed to help the organization securely house supplies.
Meanwhile local leaders, such as Hawthorne City Councilman Alex Monteiro, are working to secure additional grants.
For Deatra, the name Restoration Diversion Services reflects the organization’s mission: to divert women from a life of exploitation and restore them to dignity, health, and stability. Through patience, dedication, and compassion, Deatra, Keyla, and their team serve as a vital support system for these young women, showing them that they are not alone and that a better future is within reach.
In order to support, donate, contribute or seek help, please contact RDS.
Phone: (310) 639-1695
Address: 208 North Long Beach Boulevard, Compton, CA.
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/restorationdiversionservices/
Operation hours: Tuesday, Thursday 10am-5pm / Friday 10am-4pm.
Ultimately, RDS stands as a beacon of hope in a place long known for suffering. As Deatra and her team continue their work, they offer a vision for the future—one where “the blade” is no longer a symbol of danger and despair, but instead, a place of restoration.
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A Vision of Rescue: The Founding of Restoration Diversion Services in 2009
This article was first published in 2014. This latest updated version was published in January 2022.
All versions of this article was posted online by LA County 2nd District Supervisor of the time, honorable Mark Ridley-Thomas.
For years, community activist Sinetta Farley saw too many young girls walking the streets of Long Beach Boulevard, a popular “track” for human trafficking. And so Farley was moved to help the young victims of the sex trade.
She founded Restoration Diversion Services in 2009, an organization devoted to helping young victims get out of the life by counseling to them and helping them find services. This year, however, she finally was able to establish a storefront on the boulevard. It is the first drop in center in Compton that offers victims a refuge from the pimps and Johns who exploit and abuse them on a daily basis.
Her center, which runs in partnership with the Compton Clergy Council, the non-profits Mary Magdalene Project and Children of the Night, is now open three days a week and offers victims food, drink, shelter, clothing and counseling. It also GED preparation through a program run by Children of the Night, which has been helping children escape the life of prostitution since it was founded in 1979.
“Long Beach Boulevard is the track,” said Farley at the grand opening before a crowd of community supporters, volunteers, sex trafficking survivors and elected officials. “We are in the center of the battle; in gang territory. To meet the girls in their environment is very challenging. We hope to make these girls aware of the services they can have. Now the community doesn’t have to ask, ‘what can I do?’ they can just walk through the door.”
The two-room center, which has a comfortable sofa in the entry way and a conference table in another room, is packed with thoughtful amenities the children might want such as tissues, nail polish, candy, a prayer board with names of victims, blankets and even a few stuffed animals. Throughout, there are inspirational signs such as “Make Your Life Worth Living,” to give victims a sense of hope. There is a computer available to help them receive training for their GED. Only the locked wrought iron door in the front and the constant vigilance by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputies are a reminder that many of these children are escaping very dangerous situations.
Sex trafficking victims, whose average age is 12-14, often come from dysfunctional backgrounds and many have neither parents nor loving guardians, and instead have been brought up in the foster care system. Already low on self-esteem, many are “owned” by gang members acting as their pimps who beat them, threaten them and take away any form of identification to make the victims more vulnerable. It is estimated that in L.A. County there are 3,000 children involved in sex trafficking, a lucrative trade increasingly run by gangs.
Changing the perception of these victims in society at large is important, said Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who attended the ribbon cutting. “These children are not prostitutes,” said Supervisor Ridley-Thomas. “Children cannot give consent to have sex with a grown person.”
Indeed, as Brenda Allmond, part of the training team at RDS, put it, “This could be your daughter, your granddaughter, your sister, your mother. We are in a battle for the life of our children.”
Survivors like D’Lita Miller said having a resource like Restoration Diversion Services available at ground zero of the sex trafficking epidemic sends a huge statement to the abusers. “We are sending a clear message to the enemy: this has got to stop,” she said. “Each and every one of these victims came from a place of broken-ness. This is a place of restoration. It is going to take all of us to change this. I ask you to put down your judgment. I ask you for compassion.”
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Citizens Coalition for Change
Compton, California
March 26, 2025
To the Dedicated Team at Restoration Diversion Services,
On behalf of the Citizens Coalition, we extend our deepest appreciation for the extraordinary work you do in serving and uplifting the most vulnerable members of our community. Your unwavering commitment to rescuing and restoring the lives of young women affected by human trafficking is nothing short of heroic.
In a world where many turn a blind eye, Restoration Diversion Services stands as a beacon of hope—offering safety, resources, and, most importantly, a path toward healing and independence. The compassion, dedication, and resilience shown by Deatra Handy, Pamela Bryant, Keyla Brown, and the entire RDS team inspire us all. The long hours, the tireless advocacy, and the patience with which you guide each individual toward a brighter future do not go unnoticed.
Your efforts to not only provide immediate aid but also long-term solutions—through education partnerships, shelter placements, and life skills training—are transforming lives and strengthening our community. Because of you, young women who once had nowhere to turn now have a second chance at life, free from exploitation and filled with opportunity.
The Citizens Coalition stands in full support of your mission. We are grateful for your work and remain committed to advocating alongside you. May your organization continue to grow, receive the resources it needs, and, most of all, touch even more lives in the years to come.
With deepest gratitude and admiration,
Citizens Coalition for Change
Read more about RDS on South Bay Cities Newspaper:
Here is another news broadcast from 2017 on NBC4:
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