“In this great land of the free we call it human trafficking. And so long as we don’t partake in the luxury, ignoring slavery is of no consequence. It is much easier to look away and ignore the victims. The person who ignores slavery justifies it by quickly deducting the victim is a willing participant hampered by misfortune.”
― D’Andre Lampkin link
A local trafficked victim who had his tooth knocked out and replaced by
a volunteer dentist, Dee’s son in law.
Permission given for this picture
Important disclaimer: The views expressed on this blog do not in any way represent the views of organizations mentioned in this post.
Donate: https://www.salvationarmycarolinas.org/wakecounty/programs/social-ministries/project-fight/give-project-fight
Questions: Email Dee Parsons: helptraffickedvictims@gmail.com
This all started with a comment. I was meeting with a group of Christian health professionals to plan some programs for 2017-2018. I suggested that we figure out how to care for human trafficking victims. One person cogently answered, “What can we do to actually help trafficked victims? That seems like a huge undertaking.” He was right. It seemed overwhelming. However, I felt like we should be doing *something.*
What is human trafficking?
Did you know that human trafficking is found in the Bible?
-Joseph’s brothers trafficked him to the Ishmaelites.
-The Canaanite army trafficked girls for rape and sexual slavery.
-In 2 Kings, creditors threatened to traffic children into debt and bondage
-In each of these situations, God provided rescue and blessing to the victims.
-Amos 2:6-7 is our biblical imperative to pursue social justice.
How pervasive is it?
This is an excellent post which discusses some facts as well as some of the myths that people believe about human trafficking.
According to the United Nations, there are between 27 and 30 million modern-day slaves in the world. And the U.S. State Department cites that 600,000 to 800,000 people are trafficked across borders every year. But these numbers are often under-reported and victims are usually hidden in the shadows, meaning that real, concrete statistics are often elusive.
Sex trafficking is rampant.
-In 2016, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children estimated that 1 in 6 endangered runaways reported to them were likely sex trafficking victims.
-Globally, the International Labor Organization estimates that there are 4.5 million people trapped in forced sexual exploitation globally.
-In a 2014 report, the Urban Institute estimated that the underground sex economy ranged from $39.9 million in Denver, Colorado, to $290 million in Atlanta, Georgia.
Children are victims of human trafficking.
Trafficking can involve school-age youth, particularly those made vulnerable by challenging family situations, and can take a variety of forms including forced labor, domestic servitude, and commercial sexual exploitation.
The children at risk are not just high school students—pimps or traffickers are known to prey on victims as young as 9. Traffickers may target minor victims through social media websites, telephone chat-lines, after-school programs, at shopping malls and bus depots, in clubs, or through friends or acquaintances who recruit students on school campuses.
It is particularly difficult to be a foreign trafficking victim in the United States.
What Happens to Foreign Human Trafficking Victims in the United States? discusses the particular difficulties faced by those trafficked individuals who were brought illegally into this country to be.
I wanted to help actual victims with specific needs but what?
Enter Project Fight of Wake County
Late last spring, I invited Project Fight from the local Salvation Army to come to a dinner and address our group on the issues surrounding human trafficking. Here is a link to our local Project Fight.
Project FIGHT (Freeing Individuals Gripped by Human Trafficking) provides comprehensive case management for victims of human trafficking found in North Carolina, and works to generate education and awareness about human trafficking in the community. Project FIGHT is also the leader of the Rapid Response Team of the Triangle, where they collaborate efforts amongst service providers including law enforcement, legal aid, and medical/mental health providers. Project FIGHT works with these agencies to connect clients with basic needs, mental health assessments, education, employment, housing, and other resources. Since its inception in 2011, Project FIGHT has seen over 140 cases of human trafficking in North Carolina. On January 9, 2015, the North Carolina Human Trafficking Commission presented Project FIGHT with the Survivor Care Award. In 2016, the program expanded its statewide effort to include five different locations across North Carolina.
Here is a film that Project Fight of Wake County produced in 2013.
Due to a unexpected conflict, the dinner was not well attended and I was frustrated. They spoke to those present and I felt like they were talking directly to me. I offered to take the managers out to lunch to discover what their needs might be.
During that lunch I discovered that Project Fight carries an approximate case load of 45 clients at any one time. These individuals are identified and referred by local law enforcement, hospitals, courts and even other trafficked victims.
Many clients have been brought to the area with no identification papers to prove who they are. If so, they are not immediately eligible for various state programs for low income clients. Although the case managers begin applications, etc., it takes time. However, they often have immediate health needs as clearly shown by the picture at the start of this post. These individuals are subjected to violence, poor nutrition, substandard housing, etc.
As we talked, I began to think that there was actually something I could help with due to my connections in the broader health care community. So, I asked them to call me if they had a need which they did shortly thereafter. I was on vacation with my family and they called, saying they had a client who had a torn bridge that he was trying to keep on with superglue and they wondered if I could help.
My dentist son in law was staying with us and I knocked on his door and asked him if he might be able to help us out *gratis.* He immediately agreed. He took care of that client and shortly afterwards helped the man pictured at the start of the post. (He is one awesome son in law!)
I realized that we would not be serving a huge number of clients so the project began to seem doable. I originally planned to twist the arms of all health care professionals I knew to begin to build up a volunteer base. My husband had a better idea to make my job easier.
Enter Project Access
Project Access, with offices all over North Carolina, is a system for matching uninsured clients with volunteer physicians. My husband is one of those physicians who often cares for such patients with cardiology needs.
Wake County Physicians are generous, compassionate and caring. Since 2000, over 585 physicians and clinical staff have continued to donate care to poor uninsured men, women and children through Project Access of Wake County (PA). They are leaders in collaborating with community health clinics and Wake County Hospitals to deliver care to many who had little hope for feeling better or receiving extraordinary treatment. Lives have been changed because of their passion to help people get and stay well.
Project Access of Wake County is a physician referral program, which means qualified enrollees can only be referred into the program due to medical necessity. These enrollees are carefully screened for eligibility before being referred.
He contacted the coordinator who immediately called me back and said that they had been trying to figure out how to care for victims of human trafficking! I immediately planned another lunch meeting and got Project Fight and Project Access to meet face to face.
As the discussion proceeded, I realized that a synergistic relationship was quickly forming.
My appeal for other health professionals
However, this combining of resources did not cover all of the medical/dental needs that we would have and it was obvious that we would need more support. So, with the help of a local Christian organization, I began reaching out to local professionals with an appeal for volunteers to help meet these needs. If anyone who is in my local area and would like to physically help, please feel free to contact me.
Long term goals
I have already heard from health care professionals in other parts of North Carolina who are interested in starting this sort of relationship with the Salvation Army (they have 5 offices dealing with human trafficking in North Carolina.) Project Access is also in many counties in North Carolina. If our initial trial continues to prove successful in Wake County, we would like to extend it throughout North Carolina.
There are many issues I haven’t mentioned because I didn’t want to get bogged down in details. For example, I approached a dental rep who is going to supply some toothbrushes and toothpaste. A local orthodontist has just put together 70 oral hygiene kits to donate.
Folks, this is a great time to think about doing something like this. So many people from all sorts of backgrounds are aware of human trafficking and are willing to help.
How can our readers help?
There are a number of health care and safety needs that cannot be fully met by the volunteer health professionals alone.
Examples:
-A baby was born with serious allergies to most regular diapers on the market. Remember, these folks are often housed in group homes, etc. without access to regular laundry services. The baby needed specialty diapers which cost far more than regular diapers.
-Many times mothers must run with their babies and they do not have the funds to purchase car seats or infant formula, etc.
-Dental needs such as bridges, crowns, etc. are costly. I hope to approach dental labs to donate such items but that will take time.
-Many clients are malnourished due to their abusive treatment at the hands of their trafficker. They may need help with vitamins, food, etc.
-One client had his glasses broken and needed new ones.
-Prescriptions for things like antibiotics.
-Medical equipment like leg braces.
-Basic needs like toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, razors, etc.
Project Fight has set up a tax deductible fund in which 100% of all donations will go to meet these ancillary needs.
I asked if a fund could be set up to meet these needs and they immediately responded.These Project Fight managers are incredibly devoted. We set up some parameters for the fund. Anything that doesn’t fit within the guidelines will be discussed with me. There will be NO overhead taken out of the donations and the donation is fully tax deductible.
Here is the direct donation link.
https://www.salvationarmycarolinas.org/wakecounty/programs/social-ministries/project-fight/give-project-fight
I have set up an email to use specifically for this initiative.
helptraffickedvictims@gmail.com
Would you consider helping with this effort?
A quid pro quo promise from me
If anyone if interested in setting up a similar project in their area, I am more than willing to offer advice and help in identifying local resources in your area if you make a donation to this project.
Why are we doing this?
We wanted to do something to reach out to those who are abused. We also wanted to focus on a particular issue that we could address practically. In this effort, we can report to you from time to time about the clients that we have helped. This is not a theoretical need. The money is going directly to identified victims of human trafficking. Health and safety needs are basic needs of all humans. At the same time, we are not attempting to serve an overwhelming number of clients with a variety of needs.
We will plan to cover the issues surrounding human slavery throughout the year, as well.
Let me close this appeal by telling you about the man who was our first client. He had been with Project Fight for about 6 months. He had a bridge in his mouth that had broken and he kept trying to keep on with superglue.This had been going on for months and his mouth was sore and he was embarrassed by his problem. The case manager was unable to find anyone to help him.
When I told the case manager that my son in law would see him, she started to cry because she didn’t believe it could be that easy. She transported him to his appointment. She said that all the way home he kept admiring his mouth in the car mirror while giving her huge grins, proudly showing off his new mouth. His mouth no longer hurt. Something so small meant so much.
It is difficult for me to describe how important this is to me. We cannot eradicate human trafficking but with a little bit of imagination, experience and money we can help a few of our brothers and sisters who were once enslaved to live a life of freedom.
This is from my favorite Christmas hymn, O Holy Night. These verses particularly touch me.
Truly He taught us to love one another
His law is love and His gospel is peace
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His name all oppression shall cease
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name
first
@ brian:
YAY!!
3
@ Drstevej:
2- You can’t count me.
thanks
This is phenomenal, Dee! What you & your family are doing is tremendous & you are displaying the heart of God toward broken people. Thanks so much for sharing about these efforts. My pastor mentioned this issue on Sunday. I plan on giving by the end of the year. Thank you for making it easy for us to donate. “O Holy Night” is my favorite Christmas hymn as well.
What an incredible project this is worth any effort put forward. I have begun my new career working in the medical field. I’m not sure how I can help yet as my new employer is sending me to school and trainers from Germany which I will soon be going to train in Germany as well. Maybe God opened this opportunity not just for billy and I but so that it can be used to further this mission. I will pray about this and I would love to help.
Dee, this is phenomenal! I applaud your efforts.
My law practice did not provide me any net income in 2016 and it is likely to provide very little in 2017 which has been a great year.
I have been helping poor people rescue their children who have been improperly taken and are being abused or misused. In September, I helped rescue two children who were being kept from their mother by her ex-husband’s ex-girlfriend. The boy had small diameter deep bruises on his buttocks — made by being spanked with a spike heel woman’s shoe.
We are basically living on my social security of about $1,100 per month, and thank God for medicare for my health needs and the ACA for my spouse’s. The law practice covers a portion of the utilities and real estate tax, and pays for the telephones.
Wish we were in a place to help financially, or organizationally.
Love,
you know who
Organic. Effective. Personal.
Bravo. God bless.
Matthew 25: Jesus ties our eternal destiny to how we treat and care for “the least of these”.
Bravo!! May your tribe increase~count me in on the donations & prayer.
This is very important thanks for doing this.
One area of sex trafficking children was not mentioned. I have in the near past worked with meth addicts. When they get clean they will ALL tell you if meth is involved with a parent they are selling their own kids for the drug or will sell relatives, neighbors or friends kids under the guise of baby sitting, this includes babies and infants for the drug. The younger the better, they can not speak for themselves. This is an unspoken side effect of the drug world that has exploded in the last 10 years that few are willing to address. Thank you for what you are doing and to all that help.
Donna wrote:
This is terrifying!
JYJames wrote:
NOT our Perfectly-Parsed Theology or How Many Converts WE Witnessed(TM) to.
I worked in this field for a number of years in Europe and the latest UN global report is well worth reading. You can find it here
http://www.unodc.org/documents/Global_Report_on_TIP.pdf
You will also find a number of useful toolkits at the UNODC Trafficking website
The European Union website is here
https://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/
This is totally great, Dee.
Your right ishy, it is terrifying !! That’s probably why no one wants to address it. Its painful enough to have a child, husband, wife or parent who is addicted. It becomes unbelievable to think that world could get any worse. Most , including law enforcement keep their heads in the sand. If they removed every child from being sexually abused in the drug world,there would be no where to place them… literally. I by no means are blaming law enforcement, it is a staggering problem. We need Christians to step up and be foster parents, BUT I would not advise that if you have your own kids in the house already. Been there, done that and it was not good. There are a lot of us who really have the means and are retired and very lonely that could help, even if its a local reading program, big brother/sister or a ministry your church has. Alas, we don’t usually want to disrupt our freedoms. I can promise you there is a kid in your circle that needs a consistent friend to help with homework, someone to take an interest in that child will make a life long change for the good. The Bible says we know the kingdom of God has come because the poor have the Gospel preached to them, and yes James reminds us : true religion before the Father is this, to visit the widows and the orphans in their affliction and to keep ones self unspotted from the world. I use this verse as a dip stick for my faith level. God bless and Merry Christmas to all.
This is a great way to meet a very real need. Thanks to everyone involved!
One comment not approved.
Donna wrote:
Had a news item on yesterday’s afternoon drive-time where a couple in Palmdale were busted for offering to trade both their kids for drugs (probably Meth; the high desert out here is Meth Lab Central). Drive-time hosts described the mug shots as “She’s giving a Death Stare with wild mussed hair and he literally looks like Satan.”
I recently acquired several books by Herbert Asbury, companion volumes to his Gangs of New York:
* Gem of the Prairie (AKA Gangs of Chicago) about Chicago,
* The French Quarter about New Orleans, and
* The Barbary Coast about San Francisco.
In all of these, throughout the 19th Century and into the 20th:
Forced prostitution was rampant, including “procurers” who specialized in providing the sex slaves for the industry (properly broken-in and trained) in what’s now called “human trafficking”. Including “specialties” like same-sex, pedo, and bestiality. New York, Chi-town, Nawlins, San Fran — every city had its red-light district, from respectable upper-class to dives and cribs. New Orleans even had tourist guidebooks and Chicago had “sporting gazettes” (not only sex tourism guides, but tabloids with all the juicy gossip going around the red-light district).
And a lot of the “sports” (Johns) were and stayed VERY respectable, especially the wealthy and their bought-and-paid-for politicians.
Deebs ,-
Thanks for shining a light on this very dark area. What a wonderful way to make a difference in people’s lives.
You are a righteous person Dee.
It makes me glad to see that American Protestantism is finally starting to ‘get it’ as to what true righteousness really means.
What a fantastic project. Just brilliant.
@ Headless Unicorn Guy:
I heard this story, too, and it is shocking. In the context (human nature being what it is) of the Herbert Asbury history accounts you mentioned, it is not surprising.
There’s a story today about a Lutheran missionary from Iowa who lives/works in Papau New Guinea. He rescues women and girls from being burned alive.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/papua-new-guinea-sorcery-killings_us_5a3a70a7e4b06d1621b0ebd0?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
Dee: This is a fantastic initiative. With me on partial disability and my hubby retired, I am not in a position to help financially, but you have my hopes and prayers.
I wish someone would do things like this in my area. Human trafficking is more common than most people think!
Two RL cautionary fables about Christian activism from the guy who wrote Gangs of New York et al:
Chicago, 1872:
“Early in 1872 an organization called the Committee of Seventy was formed by “leading citizens and a large number of clergymen” with the avowed purpose of preventing crime and promoting legal reforms. But the committee was soon captured by the temperance movement, and confined its activities to advocating that the saloons be closed on Sunday.” … “Within a few months the whole matter of law enforcement had degenerated into a bitter and senseless squabble over the question of closing the saloons on Sundays.”
— Herbert Asbury, Gem of the Prairie, Chapter 3 “We are Beset on Every Side”
San Francisco, 1911-1913:
“In March of that year [1911], under the authority of ordinances adopted by the Board of Supervisors, the Municipal Clinic was established by the Board of Health … It was empowered to compel every prostitute in the city to submit to examination and, if necessary, treatment; and the police were empowered to enforce its regulations.
“The clinic opened its doors on March 21, 1911 … and existed for two years and one month. In that brief time it succeeded in reducing the prevalence of venereal disease in the red light district 66% … In addition to this work, the clinic staff rehabilitated at least 200 prostitutes and found respectable jobs for 140. … Many minors were rescued from the bagnios and turned over to the Juvenile Court, and convicting evidence was furnished to the police in 25 white-slave [human trafficking] cases.
“Despite this record, the Municipal Clinic had to fight for its existence from day one of its establishment. Practically every clergyman of prominence in San Francisco … was violently opposed to it. Revernd Terence Caraher denounced it as ‘a blow at marriage’, although the logic by which he reached this extraodinary conclusion was not divulged. Early in 1913 a large number of ministers held a meeting and demanded that Mayor Rolph abolish the clinic, and a little later a committee of preachers issued a long and violent attack in which they charged the clinic with operating a cow-yard containing one hundred women…
“The clergymen next brought political pressure to bear, and on February 13, 1913 the Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution forbidding further use of the word “Municipal”… On May 20, 1913, the Police Commissioner ordered police protection withdrawn from the clinic… whoever was responsible, the order effectively destroyed the clinic’s usefulness. … Soon after it was closed and the work abandoned. Thus the clergymen were victorious — and disease again raged unchecked through the red-light district.”
— Herbert Asbury, The Barbary Coast, Chapter 10 “Company, Girls!”
@ Donna:
I started seeing stories like this in the news a year or two ago:
Pet Owners With Drug Addiction Turning To Animal Abuse To Obtain Painkillers
http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2017/04/28/pet-owners-drug-addiction-animal-abuse/
“In a new low in this opioid crisis, some pet owners are abusing their animals so they can then score and abuse animal painkillers.”
Daisy wrote:
To a Druggie, the Constitutional Right to My Next Fix cannot be infringed in any way.
(Paraphrase of Steven King quote about alcoholism.)
I commend you for answering God’s call, Dee!