An Interview with Nola Brantley of the George P. Scotlan Youth Program

Nola Brantley is the Parenting and Youth Enrichment Director, and the Coordinator of the Sexually Abused and Commercially Exploited Youth  Program at the George P. Scotlan Youth Program in West Oakland.According to Nola, not only is the sexual exploitation of minors increasing, "the young ladies are getting more savvy because some of them, who went in at 14, are now 16 or 17.  They're recruiting 12 or 13 year olds. . . . We have girls that come from out of state to prostitute in Oakland who are under 18 and I've asked them, 'Well, how did you end up in Oakland?' They say, 'Don't you know that everywhere else, coming to Oakland to do your thing is a big thing?'"One of the many aspects of Nola's job is to be an advocate for young girls who are arrested for prostitution and she is often called upon to use her expertise in the field of sexually exploited minors to train clinicians and case managers in Oakland and the surrounding counties.You can read a transcript of this interview on my blog, Have Fun * Do Good.