The transition from UNITAS to UNITY Prevention reflects a clearer public identity for the organization’s next stage of work.

UNITAS established the foundation. UNITY Prevention carries that foundation forward with a name that is easier to understand, easier to access, and more directly aligned with the organization’s prevention-focused work in the United States.

The change is not about starting over. It is about making the mission clearer.

UNITY Prevention continues the legacy of UNITAS while expanding the organization’s focus on practical, community-based prevention infrastructure through youth education, professional training, survivor-informed support, and UNITY Centers.

 UNITY Prevention works to prevent human trafficking and exploitation by educating young people, equipping adults and institutions, supporting survivor-informed practice, and building coordinated pathways to safety, stability, and opportunity. 

UNITAS began with a belief in the power of unity: that exploitation cannot be prevented by one organization, one school, one agency, or one intervention alone.

Over time, that belief became a model of prevention built through education, partnerships, curriculum development, professional training, survivor-informed support, and coordinated response. UNITAS developed LIGHTS, a prevention curriculum designed to help young people understand trafficking risks and recognize where to turn for help. The organization also trained adults and institutions to identify warning signs, strengthen response protocols, and better protect the young people in their care.

Today, UNITY Prevention is carrying that work into a new phase.

The organization is focused on making prevention more accessible, more coordinated, and more connected to community. This includes continuing youth education and professional training, while also developing UNITY Centers as place-based prevention hubs that help young people connect to trusted support before harm deepens.

UNITY Centers represent the next evolution of the organization’s work.

The first UNITY Center, UNITY Detroit, is being developed as a referral-based prevention hub for young adults ages 18 to 21 who are at elevated risk of exploitation or trafficking. The center will provide high-touch case management, prevention programming, coordinated referrals, and partner-based support to help young people stabilize key areas of life.

UNITY Detroit is the first implementation of a broader vision: building prevention infrastructure that is local, practical, and rooted in trusted partnerships.