Grace as Justice Jan/Feb Edition, Vol 2. Issue 1

GRA CE A S JUSTI CE graceasjustice.com Volume 2, Issue 1 January 2017

Tr u ck er s

Hook er s

Set M e

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Jesu s

Pr oject

CONTENTS Edit or ial

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Th er e Is Hope f or M e

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Kat ar iin a Rosen blat t Tr u ck er s Again st Tr af f ick in g

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Lyn Th om pson

Scar let Hope

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In t er view w it h Rach elle St ar r

Pu r ch ased

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Jessica Evan s

Rober t Ut t ar o

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Blood an d Ear t h

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Jen n a Fu n k h au ser

Hidden Tear s

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Love 41

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Book Review :

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Hope Risin g

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Set M e Fr ee Pr oject

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Capt u r in g Jasm in a

by Kim ber ly Rae Er in Rise Sh elt er

St eph an ie Olson 16 Hook er s f or Jesu s

SA Fou n dat ion

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EDITORIAL Looking towards 2017, there seems to be an air of anticipation. I recently read an article that more than half the population in the United States believes this year will be better than last year. Why not? People going into a situation with a positive attitude can surely have a better year than the last.

feeling as I walked past the massive wall that once kept people inside the communist state. As a child, I remember the stories and watched the movie propaganda about the East German puppet and its Russian dictator. The wall was built long before I came along, and its intimidating structure appeared enduring. I never thought it would come down. Yet, I remember the day it did. I sat alongside my family watching; all of us with tears of remembrance. We were so happy since it would be a new day as communism died.

And yet?

As positive as I am to see 2017, my mind always turns to those still in slavery. Will this be a better year for them? Will we finally see agencies and governments connect with one another across the globe to become the formidable force needed to rescue more people? The amount of people who are rescued is negligible ? less than a half a percent. How many are saved through preventative measures we cannot know.

Yet history teaches us that when one evil dies, another takes its place. In the wake of communism, a massive cartel was born. So while I walked the wall and studied the ruins, I thought of the more sinister, invisible lines that dominate the world scene today. Corruption still makes crime easy and profitable, and people still suffer ? but perhaps far more cruelly than ever before. So what will we do? Will we sit by and watch and wait for the invisible walls to fall down? Or will we take the initiative and do what we can to bring suffering to an end? It really is up to us, as governments will do nothing without our insistence. I encourage you to do what?s in your hand ? what you can do ? and we will end this together.

In the wake of terrorist activities around the globe, refugee crises, and political upheaval, human trafficking and slavery have all but disappeared in the media. It is doubtful these suffering individuals, who have nothing to offer to those in power, will be saved, restored or prevented from becoming victims unless we do something on their behalf.

I visited Berlin a little over a week before the terrorist attack and had a nostalgic

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Tr u ck er s in t h e Figh t Again st Hu m an Tr af f ick in g

By Lyn Th om pson When working on a strategy to fight human trafficking, one of the first steps should be to determine which groups of people have the greatest opportunity to spot human trafficking as it is happening. In other words, who could serve as the primary surveillance?

When it comes to this crime, those front-line people include such groups as medical personnel, who treat victims in medical clinics; service personnel in local neighborhoods (such

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as postal workers, and cable, electrical, and water providers), who come by homes on a regular basis and would notice if something unusual was going on; restaurant and hotel personnel, who might see trafficking taking place in their establishments; and members of all segments of the transportation industry, including airport employees, because traffickers are continually transporting victims to sell them in a variety of places. Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT) began as an initiative of Chapter 61 Ministries in 2009 to work with the trucking industry, because it is 7-million strong. Truckers are trained to be extremely observant. The trucking industry is composed of people already entrusted with caring for other people?s goods, which speaks to the character of the industry when it comes to caring for others? especially when the interest of others might be in trouble. Members of the trucking industry are everywhere, covering the entire United States. Lastly, traffickers wanting to make fast money often target truckers at truck stops and rest areas (because they?re everywhere and easy to reach right along highways) to sell their victims. This is evidenced by the number of victims rescued from truck stops by the FBI. The members of Chapter 61 Ministries believed that if the trucking industry were empowered with education and equipped with tools to fight human trafficking, they would be quick to mobilize against this crime. They could do their part to see victims recovered and perpetrators arrested. Members of the trucking industry could be everyday heroes in the course of their jobs and make a significant impact against the criminal activity of human

trafficking. Perhaps they might even have a greater impact than the average person, because of their mobility and training. They were a critical front-line group to recruit.

Using tools such as an informational website Truckers Against Trafficking, on-demand webinars, a trucking-industry-specific training DVD, wallet cards with signs to look for and questions to ask, and social media accounts (Facebook and Twitter), TAT began making contacts throughout the trucking industry to build relationships and state the case for trucking members to join the abolitionist movement. TAT also began having a presence at major trucking shows as well as providing free presentations wherever requested by members of the trucking industry. The trucking industry began responding positively. By 2011, TAT had grown so much and was making such an impact in the industry that it needed to become an independent 501(c)3 non-profit organization in order to sustain its efforts.

Members of the trucking industry, who witnessed the prostitution of women minors at various places throughout United States for years but who had known what it was ? forced prostitution

had and the not

Tr u ck er w allet car ds

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and modern-day slavery ? began calling the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) to report what they were seeing. Polaris Project, which runs the hotline, reported that calls from truckers rose substantially between 2009-2014.

Between Dec. 7th, 2007, when the hotline began and Sept. 30, 2014, the NHTRC received 996 calls from truckers. By the end of June 2016, that number had increased to over 1,400. Major travel plaza and truck stop organizations joined TAT by making a commitment to train their employees with TAT materials and to make those materials available for trucking customers across the United States. Truck-driving schools, national and state trucking organizations, trucking companies ? both large and small ?individual truckers, trucking organizations of all types, and trucking media have also joined forces with TAT. TAT works to create relationships between state and federal law enforcement and members of the trucking industry through half-day events called coalition builds. These events provide a more effective localized response to human trafficking by gathering law enforcement agencies (state, federal and local) and local anti-trafficking resources (task forces and local non-governmental organizations) in

the same room with key industry stakeholders, including general managers of truck stops and representatives of state trucking associations and carriers.

Using TAT materials, the Motor Vehicle Enforcement division of the Iowa Department of Transportation has created a model for other states to follow in working with the trucking industry. They place TAT materials in their state scale sites, state rest areas, and state truck stops. They are also working with major carriers in the state to train their employees with TAT materials.

Why truckers? Watching the TAT training DVD readily answers that question. Wit h on e ph on e call, a t r u ck er w h o saw som e u n der -aged gir ls w or k in g a t r u ck st op n ot on ly f acilit at ed t h e r ecover y of t h ose gir ls, bu t also t h at of seven ot h er m in or s. Th ir t y-on e of f en der s w er e ar r est ed an d a 13-st at e pr ost it u t ion r in g w as br ok en . Training and working with front-line responders in the United States in the fight against human trafficking is a strategy that can and does yield big results ? and members of the trucking industry are some of the leading front-line responders.

Abou t t h e au t h or An award-winning public relations professional with more than 30 years experience, Lyn Thompson is the originator of Truckers Against Trafficking and co-founded it with her daughters and a friend. She ran the organization for two years and then turned it over to her daughter Kendis Paris to run. Kendis took it through the 501c3 process and has grown the organization to its present size and scope. Lyn continues working for TAT as communications specialist.

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Scarlet Hope

An In t er v i ew w i t h Rach el l e St ar r

GA J: Wh at in spir ed you / m ade you get in t o t h e f igh t again st h u m an t r af f ick in g?

RS: I was in my early twenties working a corporate job and every day on my way to work I passed a strip club. It struck me that the women working in this club probably had real needs and may feel abandoned and rejected from society. I knew I wanted to help, though I didn?t know exactly what that would entail.

GA J: How did you st ar t f igh t in g? Wh at w er e you r f ir st st eps?

RS: A couple of friends and I walked into our first strip club about 10 years ago. We paid the $10 cover and ordered a Coke at the bar. After a couple of minutes of talking to the bartender, she asked us why we were there. We told her we were Christians who wanted to show the women working in this club the love of Jesus. We asked the bartender if there was a way we could serve the women and she suggested we bring in a meal. The very next night we brought in a home cooked meal to the women at this club. We sat and ate with them and got to know them. We did this every single week, and that one club turned into two that turned into three and so on. Now, nearly 10 years later, we have served dinner in over 20 strip clubs and massage parlors in the Louisville area and have formed relationships with hundreds of women.

GA J: Wh at ar e som e of t h e obst acles you f aced w h en st ar t in g?

RS: It?s kind of a strange idea, sacrificing time and resources to go into strip clubs and serve meals. It requires patience and faith and many late nights. So one of the biggest challenges in starting was getting our vision out and finding willing and faithful women to join me in this mission. Secondly, it took a lot of time and persistence to build trust with the dancers.

Many of them thought we were crazy at first, and didn?t trust us. It was our consistent presence and pursuit of them that slowly began building trust and more open relationships. Many women who have lived a life of sexual exploitation have only had broken, unfaithful, painful relationships, so we strive to show them genuine love and support and show them we truly want to love them and help them with no strings attached and that we do what we say we?re going to do.

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GA J: Wh at k in d of n eed did you per ceive at t h e t im e of begin n in g t h e f igh t ?

RS: More than anything, the women we met in the strip clubs needed healthy relationships and support. They needed someone who would listen to them and who would drive them to an appointment and who would join them at the park for a play date with their kids.

Many of the women we met felt rejected by the church and we made it our mission to change this reputation by showing them we were there for them for the long haul and we were willing to walk with them, even though we couldn?t provide for every financial need they had and even though life can be messy sometimes.

GA J: Wh at k in d of n eed do you per ceive n ow (is it t h e sam e, dif f er en t , m or e com plex)?

RS: I would say it?s still the same. Yes the women have many tangible needs as we seek to help them (employment, medical care, food, therapy, etc.), but just supplying these things won?t really help them in the long run. We have found that the women we are working with need someone who will walk with them through the ups and downs of life for the long haul.

GA J: Wh at do you do per son ally t o com bat h u m an t r af f ick in g?

RS: My team and I strive to meet women where they are, in the midst of obstacles such as addiction, past abuse, poverty, violence, etc., and love them with absolutely no strings attached. We walk into strip clubs with absolutely no judgment or preconceived notions and offer the women a warm home cooked meal and a listening ear.

GA J: Wh at is t h e gr eat est obst acle t o f igh t in g h u m an t r af f ick in g?

RS: Getting more people educated and interested in helping.

GA J: If t h er e w er e on e t h in g you w ou ld w an t people t o k n ow abou t h u m an t r af f ick in g, w h at w ou ld it be?

RS: I would want everyone to understand that when you don't know about something, you GA J: Wh at is t h e gr eat est n eed you / you r agen cy h ave/ h as?

RS: This type of work is hard.

Relationship-based work is always messy at times. We are always looking for more like-minded men and women to help us serve this population.

GA J: If you cou ld h ave people do on e t h in g ot h er t h an givin g, w h at w ou ld it be?

RS: Serve with us!

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GA J: Wh at do you believe is t h e solu t ion t o su st ain able ch an ge in t h is ar ea?

RS: Long-term commitment. Oftentimes we must be willing to walk with these women for many years and through many ups and downs. There are no ?quick fixes? in this type of ministry. For many of the women we work with it took years and years for them to end up in the adult entertainment industry, and we must be willing to recognize that it will also take years and years for them to get on a road of healing and restoration.

GA J: Wh at ar e t h e m ost im por t an t w ays people can h elp if t h ey can n ot volu n t eer or t r avel?

RS: Give to and support the organizations and individuals who are on the frontlines fighting against trafficking.

GA J: Wh at gr ieves you t h e m ost w h en dealin g w it h vict im s?

RS: It grieves me to see women who think they?ve made too many mistakes to ever be truly worthy of love. Many of the women we work with have a history filled with abuse, addiction, and other types of trauma. Our ministry strives to show women they are not hopeless and they are worthy of love.

GA J: Wh at m ak es you t h e h appiest w h en dealin g w it h vict im s?

RS: I love seeing women find their true identity in Christ and start to let God tell them who they are instead of the world. So many of the women we work with feel rejected, worthless, and hopeless. I love seeing women gain the confidence and strength they need to begin living the life they have always wanted but never thought they were worthy of.

GA J: Ar e you af r aid of t h e opposit ion ? M ean in g, t h e m af ia, t h e pim ps, t h e police, et c.?

RS: No, I?m really not. My biggest concern is that good-intentioned Christians will try to fight trafficking by simply trying to shut down strip clubs without really caring for the women working in them.

Rachelle Starr is a mother to a beautiful little boy named Isaac who just turned three and a wife to an amazing husband named Joshua. She grew up a pastor 's kid and loved the Lord from an early age. In 2006 Rachelle moved to Louisville, Kentucky and worked in advertising and marketing until the Lord called her to leave the corporate world and minister to women in the adult entertainment industry. In 2008 Rachelle founded the ministry Scarlet Hope, which is now a national ministry. Her mission in life is to share the hope and love of Jesus Christ with women in the adult entertainment industry.

To find out more on Scarlet Hope and how you can get involved, click here.

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For GAJ?s January edition, I had the pleasure of catching up with Jason and Jordan, the founders of Hidden Tears. In addition to being dedicated professionals, they spend a tremendous amount of time volunteering their talents to make Hidden Tears the incredible media outlet it is.

The purpose of the Hidden Tears Project is to create content about the issue of human trafficking in the United States by using various actors and writers who are well known within their field. They raise awareness and facilitate funds to help NGOs fight this atrocity. One of their primary purposes is to change how media represents the issue of human trafficking and slavery.

In 2011, Jason was introduced to a group of doctors in Seattle who went to Ethiopia to train other physicians. He decided to spend a month with them to create a documentary in order to garner support for their cause. Having enjoyed that project, Jason began to look for other justice projects he could support. He soon located a group of former Navy Seals and Special Forces who worked to rescue children overseas. While they needed media, weapons and safe housing, they did not need exposure. Consequently, Jason was unable to show the six months of footage

he had taken of their agency. The end result however had overwhelmed him as he saw an incredibly dark side of humanity. He knew he had to do something.

Jordan became intensely impacted by the story of the Nigerian girls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram. She says: ?? that really impacted me deeply and incited a level of rage that I didn?t know what to do with.? She became incredibly frustrated because the international community was ?basically doing nothing.?

Even before this event, she had always been an activist, raising money for many organizations including HIV/AIDS relief in Africa and providing children with food and water around the world. However, this atrocity pushed her to a deeper level and when she met a group of rescuers who worked to save children in America from sex trafficking she knew she had to get involved.

Hidden Tears seeks to target different people by using various types of media. For instance, some people are reached through dance, others through film, and others through art. They purposefully focus on American children, although not exclusively.

The primary reason is when U.S. citizens think of trafficking, they automatically think of foreign countries like the India, Ukraine,

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Romania and China. They either have a blind eye or unaware this is happening to American children ? and in massive numbers.

In order to have the greatest impact, and thus respect and help the survivors, Hidden Tears does its best to make sure their content is accurate. For instance, after having filmed the short film Tanya, it was reviewed by both a survivor and an officer and significant changes were made. In one poignant moment, the survivor admitted she had been trafficked in that particular hotel where the film production was held.

When she indicated that the trafficking hadn?t happened that way, the production was stopped and redone.

Jason and Jordan say: ?As Hollywood filmmakers, we do have to fictionalize some things. But we cannot fictionalize that much. We speak the truth. The message will be powerful, entertaining, engaging and inspiring. Other groups consult with survivors at a distance, but they don?t usually come to cuts, etc. They don?t build into their organic process. Why not have survivors review before we lock the episode? We would like a survivor to review every episode.?

Hidden Tears strives to be a central hub for

all things media fighting human trafficking and slavery. The vlogs and blogs are created to foster community. Currently there are several projects in process as well. For example: 1-hour episodic about a special task force they work with, Saved In America different people who rescue children trafficked around Los Angeles. So far they have rescued 22 girls in the past two years.

Creating a Virtual Reality series about a girl who is trafficked from the USA to Mexico and a boy who is trafficked from Mexico to the USA. Developing a project on a woman who by climbing Mount Everest put Nepali girls through school for a year. This same woman was caught on the mountain during the earthquake.

When asked if there were one thing they would want people to know about, they said: ?It?s happening here. It?s happening in your backyard. It?s happening to all economic classes. Wake up.? While they don?t want to frighten people, they do want to inspire and change behaviors. They encourage people: ?Do you what you can do. Think outside of the box. If you work at a hair salon, are a painter,

or a dancer, you can contribute your skills to help end trafficking. You can be good at data entry, programming, or coding, it doesn?t matter there is a way. Tell your friends. Even simply talking to people helps. We have no intention of rescuing kids. Let the people who do that ? do that.?

to visit their website and check out the incredible resources they offer and become involved the best way you can. When you do, contact us and let us know what you are doing.

To find out more about

Similar to many agencies and businesses that work to end trafficking, financing is a primary obstacle. Both Jordan and Jason run their own businesses; Jordan a high end fitness company for celebrities and Jason a translation company. They hope to tap into some longer-term solution to overcome the financial obstacle, but currently feel they need to run their own businesses so they can have the necessary flexibility to continuing using media to end trafficking. We hope you will take the time

Hiden Tears, click here.

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Starting this story Jasmina and her brother Samir are sold to a man to go and get an "education" by their father who never tells them why he is selling them and completely ignores their mother begging him not to do it.

Jasmina knows it is a common thing for girls in her country to be sold, but not the boys.

The boys always get to stay with their parents. While being confused and scared by their father 's choice they are taken to a sweat shop of children where they are forced to work off their debt from being bought, driven to the sweat shop, given food, and living in the upstairs room. This is until the man thinks he has broken their spirit from being able to runaway When disaster strikes at the sweat shop all of the children run away including Jasmina and her brother. They are then tricked by another man and sold back into slavery and forced to work at a rock quarry. While they are both terrified about what will happen to them next, they plan how to get out of slavery.

Unfortunately, Jasmina and several of the other girls are sold once again to another man who only wants "the pretty girls." In a very dangerous escape plan, Jasmina gets away and is taken in by a woman who cleans her up and takes her to an orphanage for children like her. Jasmina is afraid of this place though and runs away because she thinks she is being sold again.

"I would rely on myself only. Never trust anyone again. Never give in to the weakness of hope."

As a street kid Jasmina became very angry at the world and what had happened to her. She was fueled by her anger to make it through day to day life on the streets where she had to always be one step ahead of everyone else and to always be on the lookout so she wouldn't be sold into slavery again.

One day while on the streets Jasmina sees a strange group of women in the bad part of

town going to one of the brothels and praying out in front of it before going in. When the women come out, Jasmina follows them curious as to why they are there and what they want with these women. When she herself ends up being taken in by these women she learns they simply want to help.

Many of them former slaves who had escaped and now want to help others get out as well.

"It is puzzling how you can live in danger for so long, but as soon as safety wraps around you like a comforting blanket, the idea of facing danger again seems so much more ... dangerous."

What I loved throughout the whole story is that you felt you were right there with Jasmina and that all of the things she was facing were things which most likely are actually happening somewhere in this world. I never stopped cheering Jasmina on and wanting her to be free and to find someplace safe to live where she didn't have to live in constant fear. I wanted her to get an answer.

Even though I knew it most likely would never happen I also wanted her to get answers from her father on why he did what he did.

Erin is an avid reader who wants to learn and find new ways to provide a safe and good life for others.

She has been blogging about books for a little over a year now and in that time has spoken to many wonderful people and started to help several worthwhile causes.

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You can find her at Reading With Wrin Blogspot.

Ri se Sh el ter Ri ses A b ov e th e Norm Keri Spencer from RISE Shelter in Muskogee, OK wants girls to be active in their lives instead of victims when they come into this new transition home. She has a no-nonsense attitude, with a philosophy that many could not follow: unconditional love ? no kicking people out of the program.

As a district attorney, Keri had seen human trafficking and slavery first hand in the eyes of the court. However, she became more intimately acquainted with the problem after her daughter was moved to do something and Priceless was born. Priceless is an educational ministry that creates awareness on human trafficking.

While awareness was a necessity, Keri realized a shelter was greatly needed for under-aged girls who had been trafficked.

Believing the shelter need to be separate from Priceless, she set out to do the

paperwork for her long-term residents ranging from 12-18 years old. Unlike many shelters, RISE allows the girls to stay as long as they need and get the services and care they require to be restored.

The shelter is scheduled to open in 2017 and already the ideas and volunteers are growing. So far Keri has a list of volunteer teachers who want to help survivors pass the GED. Lined up are programs for equine and jewelry therapy, classes for life skills, cooking, resume writing and job interviews.

There will also be responsibility management (such as rotation of cleaning) where everyone living in the shelter will participate.

Starting a shelter is no small feat, and some first steps include filing IRS paperwork, raising money, and developing relationships with local businesses. Additionally, finding people, properties and funding were among the greatest obstacles she faced and continues to face as she progresses towards opening the shelter.

When asked what she believes is the greatest obstacle to fighting human trafficking, she bluntly stated what many

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others have mentioned: attitude. According to Keri: ?We were all put here for a purpose. God never meant for that purpose to be a slave to someone else.? People need to stop blaming others for their victimization. They also need to be a part of the sustainable change needed in this area: stopping demand. According to Keri: ?[the] attitude in our culture is that women are a commodity to be objectified ? it?s okay to buy and sell another human being. Specifically porno and adult industry.

We have studies that show porn has the exact same effect on the brain as a substance abuse.?

If you are interested in helping, Keri indicates she needs people to come alongside the shelter to support it financially so they can get the financial backing to purchase a property to be a long-term residence. People can donate on website, write a check and send it to the office. Additionally, they can get word out and make contact with investors.

Keri Spencer grew up in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and holds an Associate?s Degree in Criminal Justice from Connors State College, a Bachelor ?s Degree in Psychology from Williams Baptist College and a Law Degree from the University of Arkansas. She is a licensed attorney in the states of Arkansas and Oklahoma. Keri has spent her entire professional career as an attorney advocating for at risk youth. Additionally, she has been an adjunct instructor of criminal justice at Bacone College in Muskogee, and works on the pastoral staff at New Community Church where, among other things, she provides legal consultation and oversees the church?s policies on child abuse reporting. She is also the co-chair of the Priceless Ministry. She has been married for 23 years to Steve, and they have 2 grown daughters.

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Click to find out moreabout RI SE

The evil of trafficking in women and children is widespread in today?s world, thriving in an environment of international travel and a European Union that allows entry into its borders with little identification. Europe can be divided into source countries, transit countries and destination countries for traffickers. In other parts of the world, the low value of girls drives a market that is insatiable. It will take a concerted, coordinated effort to stop this evil practice and there needs to be places where these young women and girls can go to receive help and healing.

The SA Foundation (Servants Anonymous) ? Canada is a Christian organization and has been on the front line of this issue, addressing the long-term recovery needs of sexually exploited & trafficked youth, women and their children for more than 28 years.

The young women who access our services are severely traumatized, not only from the sex trade but often from a family history of neglect, abuse, addiction and poverty. They have seen the worst of life long before they get to see the best. They often are without

hope for the future and come to believe that life in the sex trade has ruined them and that this is what they were made to do.

They could not be more wrong! We have seen so many young women turn their lives around and write a different future for their children once they have been given the tools and support to do so. Over a 3-year period, the SA program has a steady 70% success rate. We know that there is life beyond the sex trade and that each of these young women has the capacity to be anything they can dream of.

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Our program model is designed specifically for the needs of these women and offers front-line housing, recovery curriculum, life skills development, employability training, childcare, second-stage housing and job/school re-entry support. We provide services to both women and their children and we deliver a long-term program (3 to 7 years), as we have found that the multiple barriers these women have to success (trauma, low levels of education, little or no job histories, children, etc.) are not healed quickly. Our philosophy is to build a community of support around each young woman, and design programming goals that fit her unique situation.

To help other communities address the need for exit and recovery solutions in their city, the SA Foundation provides training and equipping to newly forming leadership teams to implement this program model. Our internship program ensures that all leaders are trained on the front-lines and our ongoing commitment to mentorship once a program starts up provides the support and expertise needed to navigate the difficult terrain of long-term recovery. The program model is both practical and culturally transferable.

Please v isit us at : SAFoundat ion t o learn m ore and t o v iew our current locat ions.

Photos are coppywritten by SAFoundation.

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Ending Slaver y in Our Backyar d

by Katariina Rosenblatt

At first when you think of slavery or human bondage you may think of some faraway place or far off land where there are barbaric rituals and corrupt officials in power who would allow such atrocities. Well, I am here to tell you that those barbaric rituals are here in the United States. While they may or may not be driven by some voodoo power, they are certainly evil and they are certainly here.

As a survivor of human trafficking, I grew up in a middle-class neighborhood in North Miami, Florida and this is where trafficking exists. I was lured into it through a friend in my public middle school history class. That?s right, the enemy was there in my school, luring other would be victims into her father ?s ring to feed the lust of his pedophile friends. What?s worse, I was a Christian. I got saved at a Billy Graham crusade just prior to this luring and it was that seed of Hope that God offered to me that saved me and rescued me (over and over again) from the travesties that came with being sold into slavery and into bondage. I was sold not only for

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for sex but also for drugs, which left me with a gaping hole only to be filled once again by another trafficker, lured in by a 70 year old pimp living in my very own apartment complex in North Miami. How could this happen so many times to me?

Because people back then were unaware of the evil lurking just beneath the surface!

Today we are doing something about this.

As a survivor-to-survivor led organization, we seek to save those who were lost.

Through the sharing of our stories, we have come to see how the Gospel message of redemption that was sown into my heart so many years ago still has the Power to Redeem as God has promised in His Word (Revelation 12:11). We go out into the streets, strip clubs, jails, group homes and even the public schools and share our testimonies and as a result, those who have experienced human trafficking in the United States come forward. In our public-school outreaches, we conducted a poll and out of 300 students in 19 middle and high schools, we found that 1 in 3 middle schoolers and 1 in 9 high schoolers within the public-school system were actively being recruited by traffickers,

mostly done through social media. In each school we visited, at least one person had been affected by human trafficking. We have developed a system to work with law enforcement and have seen the successful prosecution of many traffickers while helping our survivors become built up into survivor leaders to go out and do likewise and share their stories and the Gospel message.

For more information about our ministry and our testimonies, please visit www.ThereIsHopeForMe.org

To request a speaker for your event, please refer to www.DrKat.net

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GA J: Can you t ell m e abou t t h e agen cy? How you got st ar t ed an d w h at you do?

PUR: The mission of Purchased is to educate, equip and empower the community to end modern day slavery.

Equip Purchased facilitates events to raise awareness and educate people about modern day slavery and inspire them to join the abolition movement locally. Purchased also leads and supports 3-5 interns each semester to equip advocates against modern day slavery.

Educate Purchased provides young men and women with knowledge that both highlights the harms of sexual exploitation and provides active roles they can play to end sexual harm through the My Life My Choice and Empowering Youth curriculum programs.

Empower Purchased launched a mentorship program, ALLIES, for at-risk and/or sexually exploited girls in the Indianapolis community in 2015.

GA J: Wh at in spir ed you / m ade you get in t o t h e f igh t again st h u m an t r af f ick in g?

PUR: Purchased founder Jessica Evans was introduced to the reality of sex trafficking through survivors she met in Nepal in 2007. After returning home to Indiana, she was

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deeply moved and desired to take action.

She prayed God would show her how she could make a difference in the lives of those enslaved.

A short time later, the Lord gave her a vision to educate people and to raise awareness for human trafficking and the sex slave industry. She invited others to join her, and within a few months they organized a benefit concert, donating all the proceeds to Love 146.

The following year, they decided to push into their vision even more to see how awareness of these issues could be raised to a higher level. Along with another benefit concert, they included a two-part movie and discussion night, as well as a book study on Not For Sale by David Batstone.

The event was called Pu r ch ased ? inspired

by Revelation 5:9.

While attending a Love 146 conference in 2010, they felt the Lord telling them to establish a more permanent movement here in Indianapolis. By 2011, Purchased began working on its 501(c)(3) status in order to become a non-profit organization.

After Indianapolis hosted the 2012 Super Bowl, Purchased realized that not much was being done to fight sex traffic locally, so they narrowed their focus to Indiana.

Since that time, they launched curricula that they take into schools and juvenile placements, as well as a mentorship program for girls who have been trafficked in Indiana.

GA J: Wh at ar e som e of t h e obst acles you f aced w h en st ar t in g?

to confront the misconception that trafficking only happens in other places around the world. Most people were clueless that human trafficking happens in our own backyards to make it a relevant topic that people want to learn about.

GA J: How did you over com e t h em ?

PUR: We did a lot of community education ? in churches, small groups, businesses, and other community groups to help confront the many misconceptions about trafficking.

GA J: Wh at k in d of n eed did you per ceive at t h e begin n in g?

PUR: At the beginning, our single goal was to help educate our community on the topic. We wanted to awaken Hoosiers to this issue and call them to action.

GA J: Wh at k in d of n eed do you per ceive n ow (is it t h e sam e, dif f er en t , m or e com plex)?

PUR: Once we began working in this field, becoming more connected to the anti-trafficking community in Indiana, we realized there was not only a need for community education, but also prevention education for our young girls. So, 3 years ago, we narrowed our focus from the global issue of trafficking, to focus on prevention of trafficking for the girls in our community.

Once we began to be engaged in the lives of these girls, we realized there was even more need. We wanted to be able to do more, now that we saw the gaps in services that were being offered, so we created Indiana?s first mentorship program specifically for young female survivors of trafficking.

PUR: When we started, human trafficking was not a buzzword like it is today. We had

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GA J: In you r opin ion , w h at t r af f ick in g/ slaver y?

is t h e

gr eat est

obst acle

to

f igh t in g h u m an

PUR: This is a relatively ?new? issue in our society. Because of this, there is a lack of urgency in service provision, lack of adequate funding to provide necessary services, and general lack of education in the community around this issue.

GA J: If t h er e w er e on e t h in g you w ou ld w an t people t o k n ow abou t h u m an t r af f ick in g/ slaver y, w h at w ou ld it be?

PUR: There are ways for every individual to be involved in the fight against human trafficking. It touches every state in our country, and it is not something we should ignore or turn a blind eye to. We have a responsibility to these young women in their community.

Find even a small way to get involved ? whether it is educating yourself & your community, donating, volunteering for an anti-trafficking organization, or becoming an advocate.

GA J: Wh at is t h e gr eat est n eed you r agen cy h as?

PUR: Our greatest need is funding. We have many wonderful, committed volunteers, excellent programs, and the need is evident in our community. We need funding to expand and sustain our work.

GA J: Wh at do you t r af f ick in g/ slaver y?

believe

is

t he

solu t ion

to

su st ain able

ch an ge

in

PUR: We must confront the demand for sex and cheap in our society before human trafficking will be stopped.

GA J: If you cou ld h ave people do on e t h in g ot h er t h an givin g, w h at w ou ld it be?

PUR: Become educated. Learn all you can, and share what you learn with others.

GA J: Wh at ar e t h e m ost im por t an t w ays people can h elp if t h ey can n ot volu n t eer or t r avel?

PUR: Mentor a young person who might be at-risk for trafficking, give monetary and physical donations to anti-trafficking organizations, pray, learn all you can, and share what you learn.

Jessica?s heart was first tugged by the issue of human trafficking in Click 2007 when she visited Nepal. Her heart was broken for the children who were being sold into sexual slavery. When she returned from to her trip, she knew that God had placed a calling on her life to be a part of the abolition movement by educating people on these f in d issues and inspiring them to join in the fight. She then called on a team of friends to take a journey of faith with her to create an ou t education and awareness campaign that has become Purchased.

Jessica is a 2003 graduate of Indiana Wesleyan University and m or e previously taught Kindergarten and 1st Grade in Pike Township. She recently received a certificate in Nonprofit Executive Leadership Jessica Evans from IU. Founder/Program Director

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H U M A N E A R T H P R OJ E CT m edia m ak in g a dif f er en ce Sist er s For Sale

Sisters For Sale' is a feature-length documentary providing a powerful and very personal exploration of the complex realities of human trafficking. A shocking true story with the intrigue of a thriller, 'Sisters For Sale' follows award-winning Australian filmmaker Ben Randall as he returns to Asia to investigate the abductions of May and Pang, two teenaged friends he met on the streets of Vietnam.

In the mountains of northern Vietnam, Ben uncovers a local human trafficking crisis and sets in motion an incredible series of events. Young women are being betrayed, stolen and sold across the border in their thousands, as brides and prostitutes for Chinese men.

Determined to help his friends, Ben risks his life and tackles overwhelming odds to locate May and Pang in distant regions of China. Having given birth in China, each young woman faces a decision no mother should ever have to make: the choice between her child and her freedom.

Refusing to accept the role of victims, May and Pang must use their wits to reclaim their lives and bring their traffickers to justice, transforming their personal tragedies into a dramatic story of hope and courage.

'Sisters For Sale' is both a deeply moving true story with broad appeal for international audiences, and a bold demonstration that we as individuals are not powerless against the atrocities of the global human trafficking crisis.

You can heal . I t is possibl e.

Robert Uttaro is a unique individual reaching out to some of the most abused and vulnerable within our society. A trained rape crises counselor living in Massachusetts, his great heart is easily seen within moments of speaking to him.

As a 22-year old senior in college, Robert took a Women in Crime class at his university. During the course, various topics were discussed including female prisoners and gang members. A large part of the course dealt with sexual violence and students were required to read Rape and my Journey Back.

Robert says: ?It hit me very deeply.? One of the things it showed him was how important it is how we treat people. Our response to them can lead them to a path of healing, or one of destruction. Says Robert: ?I always knew rape existed, but didn?t realize we blamed women for it.?

Afterwards, he was so impacted by a rape reenactment that it first caused rage and then left him with a deep disgust. Shortly afterwards, he believed God asked him this life-changing question: ?This is happening to some of my people, and will you do something about it?? Robert answered this call, saying: ?Yes. I started to volunteer and my life has never been the same.?

He asks the question: ?Why are we blaming women because of their clothes? What are we doing? I mean little children are being raped too. What did they do?? He hopes these questions will stir people to question

why they might be blaming the victim for their victimization.

Dealing with victims is incredibly difficult.

What do they feel before, during and after they were raped? There is such chaos following and they are often left to deal with the suffering alone. Robert encourages people to think about how difficult it would be to come out and speak on a crime that has just violated your person. He indicates most people don?t say anything right away.

Once some victims do gather the strength to talk, those listening immediately begin an interrogation: ?What were you wearing?

Were you drinking? What were you doing??

Some are not even believed. Think of how painful this must be. It is not surprising victims no longer wish to discuss their victimization.

In addition to psychological horrors of rape, there is also a serious health component to consider. This violent crime affects the deepest part of the person: their minds, hearts and souls alongside their physical body. If it is suppressed and ignored, it can and will manifest into a health issue that can have long-term and long-range effects.

Robert is not a fan of statistics when it comes to rape because it is such a hidden crime. He cautions people when dealing with numbers because so many victims have never told an yon e what happened to them. People disclose things to him all the time that they have never reported statistically.

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To The Survivors is Robert?s recent book that is essentially his story alongside those of survivors. The book has a spiritual component and there is a chapter on the extremely difficult feat of forgiveness. The book helps to remove blame from the survivor by telling them: ?You are God?s child. You are loved. This does not have to

derail you in your life.? Robert emphasizes that if anyone is interested in doing this work, they can do it. ?Don?t let fear or anxiety take you away from that.? He firmly finishes: ?No matter where I go; no matter how long I have on this earth; I will be there until I die for anyone who needs to talk.?

You can purchase Robert's book by clicking here or going to Amazon.com

Robert Uttaro currently resides in Boston, Massachusetts and is in his eighth year of working and volunteering as a rape crisis counselor, public speaker and community educator. Inspired by his undergraduate studies in Criminal Justice, he continues to embrace a life-long commitment to activism and advocacy for survivors of sexual violence. Serving as a counselor, Uttaro supports rape survivors and their significant others through various legal and case management issues. He also facilitates workshops aimed at education, prevention and exposure of the realities of sexual violence. You can find more about Robert Uttaro on his website RobertUttaro.com

BOOK REVIEW

by Jen n a Fu n k h ou ser

BLOOD AND EARTH

by Kevin Bales

Pop Quiz:

for them? How could they survive any other way?

Environmental concerns such as pollution and global warming are caused by what?

?That?s,? argues Bales, ?why the problems of slavery and ecocide can?t just be handled a la carte. If you solve only one piece of the problem, it may well exacerbate other parts of the issue.

There has to be a holistic solution.?

a. Consumerism

b. Not recycling

c. CO2

d. Slavery

The answer to this question is the focus of Kevin Bales? newest book, Blood and Earth. By now, most of us are well aware of the many threats to our environment--and what we should do about them. But amidst all the hubub on recycling more and driving less, we may have overlooked what Bales calls ?another terrible threat to the environment--politics.? Or, perhaps more accurately, slavery fueled by corruption and greed in nearly every corner of the world. One staggering statistic: ?If slavery were an American state it would have the population of California and the economic output of the District of Columbia, but it would be the world?s third-largest producer of CO2, after China and the United States.? In Blood and Earth, Modern Slavery, Ecocide, and the Secret to Saving the World, Bales assumes his readers already come with a general bias against slavery and exploitation. ?There?s always been a moral case for stopping slavery,? he explains. ?Now there?s an environmental reason too.?

Blood and Earth spends most of its pages exploring exactly how these tragedies are linked.

From cadmium mines of Congo, to shrimp farms of Cambodia, to the world-wide thirst for gold, Bales makes it impossible for the reader to walk away unconvinced that slavery indeed leads to a destruction of the earth?s most valuable resources. Slavery feeds off areas of unrest, violence, and poverty, but in turn it also creates it.

In Brazil, for example, families desperate to feed their children are easily manipulated into debt bondage. Forced to destroy old-growth forest and burn the undergrowth for farmland, they are also being forced to destroy the only natural resource that could have provided a way out of their poverty. Even if they were to ?escape,? what is left

One crucial part of this solution is the response of the consumer. ?There?s no secret about the engine driving this vicious cycle. It is us--the consumer culture of the rich north. ...Round and round it goes--our spending drives a criminal perpetual motion machine that eats people and nature like a cancer.? Corrupt governments, which benefit heavily from slave-produced goods, are also part of the problem. Bales makes the interesting point that for the first time in history, slavery is illegal in every country in the world. What we need now is accountability to make sure these laws are actually enforced. Bales spends most of his time focusing on labor-related slavery such as mining, logging, and fishing. An aspect that seems missing is the environmental impact of manufacturing as well--such as poor factory management and waste disposal in exploitive garment factories. He himself admits the book itself may not be entirely complete: ?I certainly don?t have all the answers, and may have some things just flat wrong. But I do know that a key part of what?s needed is people--people to bring to light and expose the truth, people willing to protect what we love in nature and humanity, and people who are mature enough to make a commitment and dig in until slavery and ecocide are rare and diminishing.? So if the answer to our original question is actually ?all of the above,? what can we do to stop the intersection of these tragedies? I challenge you to be one of those people and pick up the book for yourself to find out. The truth is, there is a lot we can and urgently need to do. As Bales put it so pointedly, ?It seems improbable, even impossible, that we could actually effect change at the global level, but no one can seriously doubt the influence of American consumers on the rest of the world.?

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GA J: Wh at is t h e in spir at ion beh in d Love 41? L41: It was after my first trip to Africa in 2010 that rocked my world. Love 41 was created to take women, men and children out of poverty through job training and education. We pair this with love, compassion and meeting the basic needs of the people physically and spiritually so they can thrive while learning.

GA J: Wh at w er e t h e f ir st st eps you t ook t o m ak e it a r ealit y? L41: I approached my sister to quit her job at our parent company (Saddleback Leather) and come work alongside me. I knew I needed someone as devoted as I would be and with a similar heart. We then began working on our web design and products.

GA J: Wh at w er e som e of t h e ch allen ges you exper ien ced? L41: Well, I started with t-shirts and jewelry. Not a wise decision. I'm not a t-shirt girl at all and I believe that was a big learning curve. Don't sell products you wouldn't be passionate about wearing or using yourself. Now we have a full line of high quality women's bags, wallets, accessories and more. Everything I would wear :) GA J: Wh at w as t h e im m ediat e im pact you saw ? L41: Impact didn't take long. More than sales was the impact of sharing our vision. People started sponsoring kids to be educated and donated so we could start a free day care for the women being educated to leave poverty (in Africa) and THAT was real life impact. Every time we go to Rwanda we see people who recognize us or call out our names because they have personally been impacted by our work. It's exhilarating to see.

GA J: Has t h e lon g-t er m im pact been an y dif f er en t ? L41: Absolutely and greatly so.

The more we go, the more lives we change, the deeper the relationships and the bigger the outreach. Weather its in Africa on the receiving side or here on the giving side. Both sides are being impacted to great levels.

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Scr apbook

Love 41

GA J: Wh at does Love 41 of f er t oday f or it s em ployees? L41: I have to laugh at this because we really only have two full time employee and three contract employees.

We have to wear a lot of hats around here and we share resources as much as possible. We still work lean in order to give and give more but my sister and I travel to Africa to see our ministry every year and often we go twice a year, sometimes even more for me in the past. We also have a huge impact in Mexico. We own our own manufacturing and give the best free day care for our workers. It's been huge for them. We've had parents come to us thanking us in tears for our work and often tell us how a relative was raising their child or children before we started this day care.

We love our people and we want everyone to feel that way. Weather they make the bags, sell the bags or receive education from the bags. They are all special to us.

GA J: Wh at t ypes of pr odu ct s ar e bein g pr odu ced? L41: Full grain leather bags, backpacks, wallets, clutches, laptop sleeves, jewelry, belts, luggage and more!

GA J: Wh at is you r vision f or t h e f u t u r e f or Love 41? L41: We want to give out scholarships to orphans in Africa, specifically Rwanda. We want to offer full ride scholarships to the best Bible school in Rwanda which is much needed. So little understand the Bible or even own a Bible but so many are teaching without knowledge. I want to stop that. We also want to partner in Mexico to offer an English, faith based school for our people and local community. English is KEY for both countries in order to excel. We want

to be a force behind English, education and the Word of God. We also want to stop human trafficking. Although we are in the infancy stage of this, it?s heavy on our hearts.

GA J: Can people get in volved w it h Love 41 ot h er t h an pu r ch asin g pr odu ct s? If so, h ow ?

L41: Yes. Sponsor a child for $39 a month.

You can find out more by contacting me directly at suzette@love1.com OR go to Africa with me on a trip to impact lives in person OR donate to our causes thru www.africanewlife.org which is a tax write off for you as well.

GA J: Wh at is Love 41?s im pact on slaver y an d h u m an t r af f ick in g (as m u ch as you m igh t be aw ar e of .) L41: We are in the beginning stages of partnering in this area to stop human trafficking. I just finished a book called "Stolen" two days ago. It only confirmed my interest to help stop the madness that is happening all around the world. We are currently in talks in a unique way to stop and prevent human trafficking with an org called Fly Fishing Collaborative.

You can read more about them here http://flyfishingcollaborative.org/ GA J: Wou ld you lik e t o add som et h in g?

L41: Our growth has been huge from last year to this year with a 150% growth spurt.

People are starting to hear about us and it?s been a huge blessing. We can't thank people like you enough for getting the word out in order to stop human trafficking, pull people out of poverty and impact lives thru simple acts of love and compassion.

Click here to learn more about Love 41.

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W h o d o you l ove?

Do w h at 's in you r h an d.

I confess I had tremendous fun connecting with Sherri Clement for an interview about Hope Rising, an after care facility serving children rescued from human sex trafficking located in Washington County, Texas. This California transplant has both an inspiring story and an effective program both of which keep her moving to end modern day slavery.

Sherri?s story started when she was in California, a troubled teen trying to survive her own circumstances, coming to terms with her own life, and experiencing a

change that came after meeting Jesus.

Sherri began to ask God to tell her what He wanted her to do. She was willing to do anything. Due to her own background, she gravitated towards the issue of sex trafficking and began to seek out and research anything and everything on the subject. She quickly volunteered with After Hours in Los Angeles, a Christian outreach group working with law enforcement to help identify and rescue women and children entrapped in the sex industry.

Sherri noticed many people were involved in awareness and prevention. However, once the girls were rescued, they were handled like criminals. Realizing this had to stop, and being grieved at the plight of these girls, Sherri knew she had to do something and felt she was being told by God to move to the Houston area ? the hub of human sex trafficking in the United States.

Law enforcement needed safe homes to place those who had been rescued from trafficking, and Sherri not only rose to the occasion, but also recognized these same victims needed therapy and restoration.

Traditional therapy and medication wasn?t working. In fact, it was more of a band aid to the problem. It was taking girls far too long to get out of survival mode, and what was available wasn?t sufficient.

Consequently, many girls went back to their traffickers.

As a teen, spending time with horses helped Sherri remain calm and made her happy. She knew working with horses affects the human brain, so she decided to integrate these same graceful animals into her therapy program. She became certified in EAGALA, a widely accepted model for equine assisted psychotherapy and learning. Using this model, as a mental health professional and equine specialist, she was able to effectively shorten the time needed to get the survivors stable. She also became certified in First Aid Art. Both therapies facilitate self-awareness,

emotional regulation, and inter-personal skills? key factors in the recovery program.

In spite of her training and love, Sherri does have some grief when dealing with victims.

She says ?Ungratefulness is a problem with some US victims. International victims tend to be extremely grateful if you help by rescuing and giving them services to assist in their healing. Some individuals in the USA don?t even feel they are victims; some of them don?t feel grateful because they felt they had power and money when in the sex trade even though the money was never theirs to keep and their trafficker controlled their lives. They felt they had it better on the streets or in ?the life.? Sometimes their trauma bond with their trafficker is strong and causes them to believe they ?love? their trafficker. Typically after three months of getting care, they begin to feel ?true emotions?. This can be overwhelming to the point they may want to go back to ?the life? so they can go numb again. Society has produced an environment of entitlement.

This will cause some survivors we are trying to help to act out in an ungrateful

Rest or at ion

manner. This is hurtful, but comes with the territory. It is something we battle when we are called to love unconditionally.?

Sherri says ?I am happiest when I see God moving in them and witness their ?ah ha? moments ? those moments when they have a breakthrough. I cannot tell you how wonderful it makes me feel. It?s pure joy because I see evidence they are healing.?

When asked what she wants people to know about human sex trafficking, she says, ?Even though it seems like this terrible crime against humanity is here to stay (and it can seem overwhelming - like a huge title wave), when someone stands up and gives other people courage to stand up, they encourage a movement of outrage which changes minds. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.?

Additionally, Sherri feels the greatest obstacle to staving the blight of human sex trafficking is that ?demand? has not been successfully addressed; pornography is epidemic, addictive and driving the objectification of women, even invading the church. She has observed instances where agencies become territorial and are not

willing to tackle the issue as a greater community thereby slowing overall effectiveness. Human sex trafficking is a problem no one organization can tackle on its own. ?We need to work together ?.

Her current challenge is getting consistent funding for continued operations in order to provide ongoing care for minor girls for longer periods of time. Each girl has a variety of specialized needs ranging from therapy to education and developing life skills, which will take them into independence and a healthy future.

Hope Rising currently needs board members who have a heart for human sex trafficking victims, who will bring their individual expertise to the table in a variety of disciplines enabling Hope Rising to continue growing. Needed immediately is someone who has experience in grant writing and fundraising. Sherri encourages you who would like to volunteer or partner with Hope Rising to do so as soon as you can by emailing info@hoperisingministries.org, or calling 832-779-2190.

If you are interested in more information, or would like to donate, you can do both by visiting Hope Rising?s website.

Sherri Clement is a wife, mother of three, and grandmother of seven. Her professional background is in marketing communications with a Bachelor of Science degree for digital media design.

Sherri?s passion is to see quality focused aftercare for survivors of trafficking that is lasting and that gives them the tools and resources necessary to live life in a physically, spiritually and mentally healthy way.

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Books to Read Cor r ect ion s t o t h e Last Edit ion Grace As Justice would like to apologize to Executive Director Joan Harper of Fair Trade LA for not including her biography with the article she co-wrote in GAJ's Volume 1, Edition 7 issue. The article was entitled How Fair Trade Empowers Artisans and Fights Human Trafficking. Joan's biography is as follows: Joan Harper is the Executive Director of Fair Trade LA, an educational nonprofit that makes towns, universities and congregations Fair Trade. She has traveled a number of countries, visiting Fair Trade artisan cooperatives to see their work and hear their stories.

We are celebrating Lisa Mitts new album "Where I Belong."

You can find her information on her website Lisa Mitts or download the album from iTunes.

Lisa's work supports Destiny House, a shelter helping young women in the Pacific Northwest. You can find out more about Destiny House here.

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?How in the world did you get involved in the counter trafficking movement??

That is a question I receive all of the time.

Let me tell you. I joined the movement kicking and screaming. As much as I believe it is a remarkably important fight, and it is, it was not a fight I wanted to join. I was comfortable with my head firmly planted in the sand. I was a mom of three kiddos and the thought of the risk of sex trafficking happening in the world, let alone my own community, was absolutely horrifying. And here I was, happily running a nonprofit women?s organization, writing curriculum, speaking to women all over the United States, and even going into the schools to speak to youth on the importance of healthy relationships when I realized I could no longer pretend this was not in my own backyard. I knew I had to do something. But what? I knew that I was not the warrior/rescuer type, and I also knew that my ability to provide victim services would only lead to more trauma to the victim (no, seriously).

But then I realized: if my children had never heard that they were at risk for sex trafficking, and as their mom I hadn?t heard they were targets, then we could not be

atypical. I teamed up with my co-founder, Cindy Hultine and we went to work. As we spoke to educators in our state we found that there was no education on the dangers of sex trafficking in our school system, and Set Me Free Project was born.

We began by scouring for a quality curriculum. There was a lot of great curriculum out there but none that addressed the one issue that we believed to be the foundation of the problem: the value of human life. When we as individuals recognize our intrinsic value, we respect ourselves and require respect from others.

When we as individuals value each other, we can only treat one another with respect.

We can?t bully others and we certainly can?t sell them. And so our curriculum was written with the foundation of telling our youth YOU ARE VALUABLE. That?s what they need to know. Today we offer all of our services at no charge, providing resources to youth and parents, and connecting those in need to other organizations within their community. We travel to schools, youth groups, and community groups in order to empower our children and young adults by

38

teaching them to understand their intrinsic dignity and value. At the same time, we give them tools to help protect them from the evils of trafficking, as well as make them aware of the potential dangers of social media and risky behavior.

he was extremely mysterious about what he did and who he was. At first, ?Laura? was excited for ?Jenny.? She had an exciting new boyfriend who spoiled her. However, after ?Laura? heard our presentation she realized that ?Jenny? was in potential danger. She realized that this ?boyfriend? was probably not a boyfriend at all but a possible trafficker. After several long conversations between the two friends and a call to the National Trafficking Hotline, ?Jenny? realized that this was not a healthy relationship at all but a relationship that could set her up for a lifetime of trauma. It wasn?t until ?Laura? understood what sex trafficking looked like and how our youth could be at risk, that she recognized the situation for what it truly was. I wish I could close this story by sharing that the trafficker was caught and convicted but I cannot.

Nonetheless, the fact that ?Jenny? escaped the fate of a trafficking victim is worth the work we do. So, while we first became involved in counter trafficking to fill a void, we stay in it for all of the ?Jenny?s? out there. We do this to prevent our youth from ever seeing the darkness of trafficking.

Even if we only touch one life it?s worth it.

We love to be a consistent presence with youth. We are in the classroom every quarter and/or semester, sometimes seeing the same students several times with a different presentation. It has been humbling to see the response of the students during a first presentation, but more importantly, during a second, third, etc. They are being impacted in an incredibly positive way.

A few weeks after one of our high school presentations we received a text from a girl we will call ?Laura,? who had been in the class in which we presented the dangers of human trafficking and social media safety.

This young student shared that she worked in a local fitness center in a nice neighborhood in our city. She had befriended a girl, who we will call ?Jenny,? who had been sharing about a new boyfriend. This boyfriend was much older, he would bring her expensive gifts, and yet Stephanie Olson is a speaker, an author, and the CEO/President of Set Me Free Project. She holds a BA degree in Psychology and has had extensive training, research, and study of human trafficking prevention education and social media safety. She currently runs two nonprofit organizations, writes and develops the curriculum for Set Me Free Project, and trains the current speakers to speak to youth with an interactive and engaging approach.

Stephanie is available to speak to youth and families all over the country, along with offering offer training to and leaders in the community that are interested in becoming educated on the subject of trafficking.

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Click h er e t o f in d ou t m or e.

"[Jesus] is the answer to trafficking! He is the equalizer." Annie Lobert Annie Lobert was not so different from most girls, growing up in a small town and experiencing common struggles with friends, school, and boys. But her home was filled with turmoil, and at nine years old an older girl sexually abused her. As a teenager she was assaulted numerous times by boys who said they loved her just to get what they wanted. Feeling unloved, used, and abused, she struggled to find self-worth.

Lured by the almighty dollar, and with a skewed fairytale view of love, she was drawn toward the seductive whispers and open arms of the sex industry. Greed consumed her, and the money became an easy remedy to numb her brokenness. She began a new life with a new name: Fallen.

Settling under the lights of glamorous Las Vegas, she became one of the most sought-after high-class escorts, fielding calls from celebrities, musicians, politicians, and other men with endless supplies of cash.

But the lights weren?t that bright. All that glitters isn?t gold. And it wasn?t long before

the dream of getting all she ever wanted became the nightmare that plunged her into the darkest time of her life.

During her journey ?in the life,? a violent pimp owned her and took every dollar, beating her multiple times within inches of her life. After more than a decade and a half of countless arrests, rapes, life-threatening calls, and utter loneliness, the freedom she had once sought became her prison. Then after being diagnosed with and treated for cancer, Annie eventually found herself at death?s door from a drug overdose.

That?s when she finally surrendered to the love of a beckoning Savior. Today, Annie is redeemed. Healed.

Free. And rescuing other victims through her organization Hookers for Jesus In November, I caught up with Annie, I found a lady spitfire who is glowing restoration and always ready to help others. I asked about her involvement with the agency and she says: ?It is a very high call [to help people in this lifestyle]. If you want to gain your life, you will lose it.

(Matthew 16:25). You will be giving fully. It

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takes so much more than 8 hours a day.

You have to be invested in each woman?s life.?

I asked her about how she was able return to the industry to help when so many women never wanted to relive that experience. She indicated that it was a hard road for healing and that it wasn?t overnight. Yet: ?It was a healing that came out of that dedication I made that night when I decided to follow Jesus. My healing came quickly out of the surrender I fully made. If you fully surrender ? I believe ? He is able to heal you quicker. He heals you right when you ask for it. But your attitude towards your healing and how you walk it out is up to you. The people you surround yourself with. Your atmosphere.?

Annie makes no apologize for what she believes and what she feels works: ?What I find with all women I?ve met, the Christian aspect has been the saving grace in their lives. The difference between spiritualism and emotional healing and grasping the Christian aspect of it, the reason Jesus works so well, [is] He brings the forgiveness and love. He brings the reconciliation with your past and future. Washing everything

away, everything is gone. This is why all this works so well.?

I was curious about her unusual title for her agency. Annie laughed, indicating she has received some criticism for her choice.

Then she explains: ?Many times my pimps, police and security in the casinos would call us hookers, sluts, hoes, etc. and I was offended. I said I wasn?t, but I was. [One day] I was driving in my car, and I was asking the Lord ? I don?t want to call it my name (self serving, all about me) ? and I remembered the first four disciples Jesus chose to follow him were James, John, Andrew, and Peter. Matthew 4:19 says: ?I will teach you how to fish for people ? come follow me.? I heard this little small voice said: you?re my little fisher (hooker). I used to love to fish. That?s where the name comes from. We are fishers are of those who are drowning in the sex industry.?

Annie has written a book entitled Fallen about her time in the sex industry. You can check out information on her book and learn more about Hookers for Jesus on her website.

Click here to learn more about Hookers for Jesus.

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