Shocking Journey

Nine weeks ago I got the opportunity to choose an organization to partner with for my Senior Capstone project thru PSU.  I knew right away that I wanted to partner with Hope82, a non-profit faith-based organization that is committed to helping victims of sex trafficking. 

 Thru this journey this is what I learned…  

• Portland is ranked #2 in the Country for the number of sex trafficked children and women. (FBI) 
• The average age of young girls being pulled into sex trafficking is between 12-14 years old.
• In 2010, Portland was named “Pornland” by Dan Rather in a television report that brought national awareness to sex trafficking in the Pacific NW
• 82^nd Avenue is a well known track where women are sold for sex acts.
• From 2009-2013 there were at least 469 children who were victims of sex trafficking in the Portland Metro area (CSEC Report, Portland State).
• Every 30 seconds another person becomes a victim of Human Trafficking. 
• Sex Trafficking is part of a greater problem known as Human Trafficking.  
• Human Trafficking is a multi-million dollar industry second only to Drug trafficking as the highest grossing criminal endeavor.
• Over 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders each year; 50% of them are children and 80% of them are women and girls (UN, US State Department).
• Trafficking includes: recruiting, transporting, selling, or buying of people.  Pimps trade and sell these girls for profit and demand them to make their quotas or they are beat and injured. 
•  Youths are recruited and lured into this lifestyle because they are easier to control and because of the high demand and value they have for being under age.  They then find it nearly impossible to escape once they are a part of this “life.”  

These cold hard facts are hard to ignore!  The saddest part is that this isn't an isolated incident or crime reserved for "seedy" parts of Portland.  No, human trafficking victims have been identified in cities, suburbs, and rural areas in all 50 states.  What I am learning is how widespread the lack of awareness really is.  There's so much to understand.  There's so much to do.  Where do we begin?  What can we do?

What Can Be Done?

The question that we all need to be asking is: "What are we doing about all of this??"

Lot's of work has been done on the legislative side, implementing laws against the pimps and “John’s,” and increasing the punishment for having sex with a minor into a felony.  This means they will have a permanent record, have to register as a sex offender, pay $10,000 and serve time in jail.  There is also training being done to educate law enforcement and others so that they realize these women are being controlled, coerced and manipulated into selling their bodies for sex.  Women and girls in sex trafficking situations are often misidentified as "willing" participants in the sex industry.  

Now the biggest missing hole facing us today is how are we going to help the victims?

Unfortunately, I have learned that shelters and recovery homes are few and far between.  In fact there are less than a hundred beds available for women in the whole United States!  I am happy to say that Oregon will be offering some of those beds!  House ofEngedi located in Corvallis is a faith based long-term, women’s residential care facility offering a home of recovery including access to counseling, medical care, education, life skills training, and overall healing.  When these young women have been in this life for some time, they are often attached to their pimps and suffer from PTSD as well as Stolkholm’s syndrome making it extremely difficult to cut ties and begin a new life.  House of Engedi is there to help them through this process, offering hope and a new beginning.  They need our partnership and support in this huge endeavour.

Some Hopeful People

I got the great privilege of working with Liz Alston and asked I asked her how she got involved with reaching out to victims of sex trafficking.  She shared how she learned about sex trafficking over just about four years ago, from there she was determined to make a difference.  She moved to Portland for this reason and then looked for a church and partners to join her in this fight for young women’s freedom.  She found a new local church that was starting up in Southeast Portland named Hope City, which recognized that with their close proximity to 82^nd this meant they were going to make sex trafficking their concern as well.  

I am inspired by Hope City’s lead Pastor Brian Becker’s response to this need:  “We didn’t know what we were going to do, but we had to do something, we couldn’t do nothing.”  Liz and others began hitting the street Friday nights and getting to know girls as well as local law enforcement.  What they learned was that the Police and girls needed a place to go, talk with someone and get immediate needs met.  Thus the birth of Hope82.  This is the first ever drop in shelter for women caught up in sex trafficking.  They have toiletries, medical supplies, computers, food, and most importantly a place of rest where they will not be judged and in fact they will be loved and cared for no strings attached.  They are the first step, to offer an alternative, a way out, essentially hope.  

How can you get involved??  Know that every woman and child caught in the traps of sex trafficking has a story, they are a victim and need our help.  Learn more and share the truth with others.  Get trained and volunteer, invite representative of these groups to share with your church or local group.  Give of time, resources, gift cards, follow them on face book, come to fundraiser events, and most importantly pray! 

It is not easy to break these bonds, life change does not come with out effort and cost but it is possible, and most certainly these girls are worth it!!