Here in the Yakima Valley, young girls are being sold into prostitution. They fall prey to gangs where they're sometimes traded for drugs and guns. It's a form of human trafficking authorities say happens more often than you think.
A $500,000 unexpected shortfall in Sunnyside's jail budget is forcing the city to look at other general fund programs for cuts. The city will have to look toward Parks and Rec, city admin pay, and Sunnyside's Promise for possible cutbacks.
Sunnyside's Promise is working to prevent gang and drug activity before it happens, by giving kids in Sunnyside positive things to do. And as KIMA discovered, the organization is pulling its weight in helping to transform the community.
Sunnyside is getting two new soccer fields. All thanks to the hard work of a high school senior. But the good news doesn't end there. After two years in the dark, the community center may be opening again. And the inspiration for all of this, gangs.
They say they’re fighting gangs with bicycles. It may sound like an unusual approach to a very complicated problem. But in Sunnyside, a new program is giving kids what they need most in their lives: purpose.