Walk for Justice

It is surprising to many people to hear that human trafficking is happening right here in America. From tomato fields to domestic servants to children being sold for sex at truck stops, it is rampant. Occasionally we may hear a horrific story about modern day slavery that breaks our hearts, but we are left wondering what in the world can we do about it. 

If you live in the Bay Area, you can be apart this Saturday of a "Walk for Justice" in support of the CASE Act. The CASE Act, a.k.a. Prop 35, is an initiative that will be voted on this November which will toughen up the laws about human trafficking in California. This walk is an effort to raise money and awareness so that millions of Californians will vote YES on Prop 35 and put an end to modern day slavery.

I would love to have some friends to walk with, so if you're interested, let me know. Also, you can support me by making a donation on my fundraising page. Would you consider giving $10 or more toward this worthy cause? Click here to contribute. Thanks!!!

Check out this powerful 3 minute video of some survivors' stories. 

Fight for Justice TODAY!

It's official. The CASE Act is going to be on California's November ballot as Proposition 35. This is huge and exciting news for all who hate human trafficking and love justice. It's time to get the word out!

from their website:
"In California, many vulnerable women and young girls are held against their will and forced to sell their bodies. The victims are often girls as young as 12 who are sexually exploited for the financial gain of human traffickers. They are afraid for their lives and abused -- sexually, physically, and mentally.

Proposition 35, also known as the CASE Act, is an initiative that will fight back against human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of women and children in the state. Click here to learn more.

17 million registered voters in California can make a firm statement to traffickers around the world that we take slavery seriously and care about those in bondage.

By voting YES on Prop 35, you can take a stand and say that we won’t tolerate the sexual exploitation of children by human traffickers."

It's going to take a lot of money to get the publicity needed to inform 17 million voters. Could you help?

Here's a few ways to get involved and fight for justice:

Share on Facebook 
Re-tweet on Twitter
Send an email to your friends
Walk for Justice- I'm planning on walking in Oakland on Saturday, August 4th. Anyone want to join me? Let me know. There are also walks in Sacramento, San Diego, & Long Beach.
Contribute financially today!

What can YOU do to give a voice to the voiceless today? Do something.

He has sent me [AND YOU!] to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim freedom for the captives 

and release from darkness for the prisoners.

Isaiah 61:1

Join the fight against Human Trafficking

Have you heard of the CASE Act?

If you live in California, it is important to you and you will hopefully being hearing a lot more about it in the next few months.

This grassroots movement was started by Daphne Phung (a Bay Area local) out of a passion to end human trafficking and sexual exploitation that is rampant in our state. She has done an amazing job pulling a team together and they have worked tirelessly to get this initiative on the November ballot. The initiative has been approved for the ballot, but there is still a lot of work left to be done. Just because it made it on the ballot does not guarantee that it will be passed by the voters and made into a law.

Between now and November, there will be a lot of efforts made to educate and raise awareness about human trafficking in California. I want to invite you to join the cause!

For starters, simply follow CASE Act 2012 on Twitter and "Like" them on Facebook. Then, click here to view their website and learn more about how YOU can get involve.

Their tagline is "Justice starts with you." Let's fight for things that really matter. 

Compassion Week Continues...

Yesterday on my blog, I talked about poverty. Poverty is one of those things that we know is true, but often doesn't seem real. We so rarely interact with people who are desperately poor and it is easy to fall into the trap of "out of sight, out of mind." But the reality is, in this very moment as you sit behind your computer and read this post, one in six people around the world lives in extreme poverty, surviving on less than $1 per day.

When people live in extreme poverty it is easy for them to get exploited, abused, or seek desperate measures to survive. One trap that entangles some of these individuals is Human Trafficking (modern day slavery). There are currently over 27 million slaves in the world, more than any other time in history. These individuals are often kidnapped or deceived and then held against their will to perform tasks they do not want to do. These tasks can be anything: house cleaner, nanny, restaurant worker, factory worker, etc... And many, many of them are exploited for sex either through prostitution or the abuse of their owner.

Slavery is illegal in virtually every country where it exists. But it is an extremely lucrative business for those in the industry, so it is kept underground and is extensively and intricately networked together throughout the world.

What many people do not realize is that human trafficking is not just a crisis in third world countries. It is a crisis here in the United States. All 50 states have had reported cases of human trafficking. Though no one can be certain the exact figures, there are currently thousands of victims (some say hundreds of thousands) within our borders.

The San Francisco Bay area is a major hub for human trafficking. There are police task forces here specifically dedicated to fighting human trafficking. However, when a victim is rescued, there have been very few options for them as to where to find shelter. A domestic violence shelter, a homeless shelter, a hotel, or perhaps even jail.

But this August, the Freedom House will have it's grand opening! This will be the Bay Area's first shelter specifically designed to meet the needs of survivors of human trafficking! The awesome part is that this is going to be a Christian shelter, providing for their physical, emotional, mental, AND spiritual needs.

Freedom House seeks to provide a long term (up to 18 months or longer if necessary) shelter that is a safe, reverent environment for these women to begin to heal, learn necessary skills, get proper immigration status, and meet other needs that the survivors may have.

Andy and I have had the privilege of getting to know the founders of this organization a little bit and they are an amazing, godly couple. South Bay is so excited to be partnering with them to restore hope and dignity to these precious human beings for whom Christ died.

Andy & I are also supporting Freedom House on a monthly basis and you can too! It costs $29 to provide shelter for one night for one of these victims. Freedom House is doing an online giving campaign during the month of April to get people to join their team to help them minister to these survivors with the love of Jesus. I urge you to consider joining that team. $29 a month. $100 a month. Whatever you can do.

What if it was your daughter? Or your sister?  Wouldn't you want them to have the care that they need? 

"Whatever you've done to the least of these, you have done it unto Me."

Click here to go to the Freedom House website and begin donating today!

Freedom House

A couple weeks ago Andy & I went to a benefit dinner for Freedom House, the Bay Area's first shelter specifically for victims of human trafficking. South Bay Church has been doing research on ways to get involved in the fight against human trafficking. We really have a heart for the aftercare of rescued victims, and while we know that human trafficking is going on right here in the Bay Area, we could not find any "safe houses" locally that provide care for these young women. The closest safe houses that we could find were at least a couple hours away. That is why we were so excited to hear about Freedom House.

Freedom House is a Christian aftercare facility that will provide for the needs of these victims. The survivors of human trafficking often need clothes, free shelter, food, language skills, medical attention, job training, legal assistance, counseling/therapy, and a variety of other services. Without shelters like Freedom House, police do not have many options once they have rescued the girls. The girls are left very vulnerable and are at risk of being trafficked again.

Freedom House will not only provide the victims with all of the services listed above, but they will also provide the opportunity for the women to hear the gospel and attend optional Bible studies. The reality is, providing freedom in this life without giving someone hope for eternity falls incredibly short of what the Bible exhorts us to do. Freedom House wants to provide a safe environment where these young women can tangibly feel the love and healing power of Christ.

Andy & I are so excited to be meeting with the founder of this organization in a few weeks. We are hoping that South Bay will be able to partner with Freedom House both financially and through volunteer support. Freedom House is hoping to have its Grand Opening this summer. You can read more about this amazing organization here.

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me...

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim freedom for the captives

and release from darkness for the prisoners...

to bestow on them a crown of beauty

instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness

instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise 

instead of despair. 

Isaiah 61:1,3

Freedom Summit

This weekend I attended a conference on human trafficking (i.e. modern day slavery) called the Freedom Summit. It's hard to wrap it all up in a concise review, but I want to at least share some astounding statistics, each documented by reliable sources such as the US State Department and various anti-trafficking groups.

• There are an estimated 27 million slaves in the world today...more than at any other time in history.
• Slaves generate approximately 13.6 billion dollars for slave holders per year.
• Child soldiers are being used in more than 30 countries around the world.
• In India 60-75% of all prisoners are still awaiting trial.
• In North Korea, an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 people are believed to be held in remote detention camps. Their government continues to deny the existence of such camps.
• Approximately 80% of the people trafficked across international borders each year are women and girls, up to 50% are minors.
• One million new children become victims of trafficking each year.
• In South Africa 40% of women would characterize their first experience of intercourse as "forced".

One thing that was shocking to me is how rampant human trafficking is in the United States.

I honestly have no idea what this journey will look like for me, but I know that I can no longer sit back and do nothing. These statistics are so overwhelming, but as one lady said, "Despair is not an option these victims can afford for us to choose. We have to live with the faith that God can do what we say we believe he can do."

Freedom is not free; it comes at a great cost. Just because this is not MY reality, just because it's not happening right in front of my eyes, doesn't mean that it is not reality and that it isn't actually happening.

I will keep you posted on this journey of justice. Perhaps next week I'll write a post explaining how I first became burdened for this topic.