Guest, Author at Shared Hope International

October 8, 2013 by Guest

Seattle Chosen Premiere Summary – Sept. 26, 2013

Guest post by: Jo Lembo

With the Seattle Aquarium as the backdrop, guests of Shared Hope International heard, many for the first time, that sex trafficking is real and it’s here in our neighborhoods. The Seattle Premier showing of Chosen drew a registration of over 300, many of them sponsored youth from the Puget Sound area. The diverse crowd included Senators who sponsored new, stricter laws, law enforcement who enforce them, caregivers who support the victims, and providers of housing for survivors. Parents, teachers, media representatives, coaches, youth leaders and nearly 100 teens came to learn how to Defend Their Friends, the theme for the evening. Students from University of Washington Law School seemed to represent the United Nations in their small group of ten. One girl shared with a staffer, “I was trafficked twice in Africa. Then I became a prosecutor but it’s very hard to protect women in a country where they are considered property. So I came to the US to get my degree!” Her fire and passion resounded with the promise of greatness as she declared, “I will be the best prosecutor ever to return to my country!”

Nine partners stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Shared Hope including Seattle Archdiocese Council of Catholic Women (ACCW), Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST), Connelly Law Firm, Federal Way Coalition Against Trafficking (FWCAT), The Genesis Project, Real Escape from the Sex Trade (REST), Union Gospel Mission, Washington Women’s Network (WWN) and Youthcare. We all recognize there is a war raging and none of us can win it alone. Shared Hope is grateful for others in the Puget Sound area who are fighting the same battle.

A hush fell over the crowd when survivor, Brianna, stood up to declare the vulnerabilities that were exploited in her, a then barely 18-year old college-bound girl. Her story breaks all stereo-types as she shared how she was an A-student, a cheerleader, an athlete, in a youth group, and the youngest of five children in a two-parent home. She thought she was making choices when a regular customer where she waitressed invited her to Seattle for the winter break. But she didn’t know he had chosen her to groom and sell her into the sex industry. Her friend, Evan, recognized the signs of trafficking because his dad had heard a presentation based on the book “Renting Lacy” at a Rotary Club and had talked to his son about defending his friends. Evan betrayed Brianna’s trust to save her life.

Everyone was riveted as she spoke through tears, “Where were my parents, you might ask?” Brianna answered her own question, “I lied to them. I wasn’t where I said I would be. I kept things from them. They did an amazing job raising me, evidenced in the fact that I can stand before you after what happened to me. I want to thank my parents who are sitting on the front row tonight.” She then urged young people to be aware when a friend is hiding things, being isolated from support networks, has a significantly older boyfriend, suddenly has expensive gifts or is planning to go away without telling her parents. “Talk to them! Tell them it’s dangerous! If they won’t listen, go to a responsible adult and ask for help!”

The program faded into the evening as guests left armed with new knowledge, new tools and new hope shared that I CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Click here to see more photos from Chosen Seattle.

September 20, 2013 by Guest

A Father for Freedom

Written by: Marissa Montalvo

Life is one of the most precious things in the world and it takes tremendous courage to save one. Sparsh Founder, Timothy Hirwale, shares what motivated him to rescue and raise dozens of India’s children as his own and how his organization is making an impact.

“There was a time in my dad’s life he was left alone to die on the street of Marathwada, a rural place in Maharashtra, India. An American missionary named Elizabeth Walton picked him up as a malnourished child and cared for him and gave him the name Daniel. Looking at the beautiful lifestyle of my orphan mom and dad I was inspired and thought I would love to care and love these precious children.”

Dedicated to offering that same love and care that Walton gave his father, Timothy decided to create Sparsh, an organization that offers protection and a family to children and orphans.

“For me the thought of a child being left alone without care and protection and without love makes me move in my inner spirit. You can call it a call of God or inner urge to do something for children, but from the age of 18 there was only one aim and goal or ambition and that was to serve the children.”

When he was 18-years-old, he was called “bachelor dad” because he had already taken in two 3-year-old children.

“The first time when we picked up Payal and Sunny from the red light area to Sparsh, there was this tremendous joyful satisfaction in my heart but it took 10 days for Payal to accept me as a father because she had horrific time with her father.”

His mission isn’t easy. Timothy says some of his greatest challenges are overcoming the helplessness he feels when he can’t accept more children because his home is full, caring for the education and development of so many children, and finding the time between fundraising, administration and running the home to offer individualize love and support to all 17 children. Not to mention the logistics of transporting 22 people using one small six-passenger van. Placing his challenges into perspective, he says stories like Nandini’s are worth it.

“We brought Nandini from the street. She was full of mud and carbon all over her body. When we started giving her a bath, all the black water flowed from the bathroom. Seeing that, all rest of the children screamed and ran away saying that she is very unclean. But as the days pass by, when I look back, I thank God for this little life, full of joy and smiles every day.”

Timothy says being a good father means being a good role model, building comfortable communication so children feel free and open to be themselves, finding creative and resourceful ways to provide for the family, and by taking the time to instill values in the children.

“In my opinion, a good father introduces his children to the future and does not try to keep them from world. I feel [parent should] let them see everything, have experiences of their own and when the time comes for them to make the right decision of following any religion or career, it is their own choice. I will rest assured because the values, the love I have showed to them, is genuine and you will get a genuine result. Your love and values will always guide them to be a successful human being.”

The time and energy Timothy invested in being the best father he can is paying off. He says he has seen an increase in the children’s level of trust and sense of security since coming to the home. They are sharing their feelings, hugging and showing intentional acts of kindness-actions that indicate the children are developing healthy patterns of affection and relationship skills which can be more difficult for children with traumatic backgrounds to develop.

Timothy is a man of prayer, passion and purpose. He says men must step forward with courage and boldness to fight against injustice.

“I feel God has blessed America with everything, what other nations covet. The God given freedom is being taken away by human traffickers all over. Our negligence is bringing the HIV rates high on rampage. Our negligence is seeing our own daughters and sisters being taken away in front of our eyes…Feeling sorry for the horrific act is not just enough. It is the time to act. Many think it won’t happen to me or my family, but greed and pleasure does not know any relation and color. I pray and plead, let’s make human trafficking a history.”

About Sparsh
In 2011, Shared Hope International expanded its impact in India by welcoming a new partner in Pune. Sparsh, which means “touch” is a restoration refuge providing a family environment to women on a journey of restoration after sex trafficking, their children, and children whose mothers are still enslaved in Pune’s red light district.

August 23, 2013 by Guest

It Happens to Boys, Too

Special guest blog post by Anna Smith, Executive Director & Co-Founder of Restore One. Commercial sexual exploitation “happens to boys, too.”

“You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know.”– William Wilberforce

The words of William Wilberforce serve as a stark reminder that with knowledge not only comes power but responsibility.

In Spring 2013, ECPAT-USA’s groundbreaking study And Boys Too created a buzz in the sex trafficking movement and forced us to expand not only our knowledge of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) and sex trafficking but it increased our responsibility to act on behalf of boys too.

Experts estimate that annually between 100,000-300,000 American youth are victims of some type of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) within the United States. Without any education, most Americans assume sex trafficking and CSE happens only to women and girls. The majority view men as perpetrators and seldom consider them as victims. However the 2008 study, The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in New York City, suggests that as many as 50% of commercial sexually exploited American youth are young males.

While the victimization of each gender requires an equal grade of attention, the sex trafficking movement has largely overlooked the fact that it happens to boys too.

Such knowledge shaped the work I do at Restore One and the population we plan to serve through our long-term aftercare program, The Anchor House. Opening in 2014, The Anchor House is staged to be the first in the United States to provide long-term residential care specifically to domestic minor sex trafficked and CSE boys. The issues facing DMST and CSE boys, while similar to girls, are firmly unique. Some of the trends unique to DMST and CSE boys we’ve observed both through study and through relational interaction with male survivors include:

The common age of first exposure to the sex trade is younger; studies suggest that a boys average age of entry is 11-13 years old.
The game is different; boys are not always ‘pimped out.’ There is often a market facilitator involved in the recruitment and brokering of boys to buyers.
Boys express greater amounts of humiliation and shame when associating themselves as victims of sexual exploitation, thus decreasing solicitation of services.
Boys have an increased bewilderment toward sexual orientation and gender identity.
Studies suggest that the bulk of boys identify as heterosexual. Yet gay, bi-sexual, transsexual and questioning (GBTQ) youth represent a significant portion of sexual exploited youth. Along with boys, GBTQ populations must be addressed.
Boys in the sex trade are at an increased risk for physical abuse, sexual transmitted infections and HIV.

Also worth noting, boys exiting the sex trade report complications such as: depression, anxiety, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), suicidal thoughts, poor self image, sexual identity issues, sexual transmitted infections, HIV, lack of family support, drug dependency and obstacles with physical injuries.

At Sharing the Hope, I look forward to expanding upon not only these unique trends but discussing the framework application of The Anchor House program.

To hear more on this topic, join Anna Smith and over 25 national experts at Sharing the Hope, November 7-9 in Washington D.C. Early bird registration closes October 1. Book now!

Anna Smith is Co-Founder and Executive Director of Restore One. Anna works diligently on Restore One’s chief project, The Anchor House. The Anchor House will be the first shelter in the nation designed to meet the psychological, physical and sociological needs of sex trafficked and sexually exploited American boys. Aside from Anna’s work with the Anchor House, she oversees Restore One’s prevention program, Project So Loved, and serves as Chair of the Pitt County Rapid Response Team. Anna has dual a degree in Social Work and Religious Studies and is currently pursuing her Masters in Clinical Counseling. Anna is a strong advocate for sex trafficked and sexual exploited males. Anna has a resilient passion to see child sex trafficking victims experience true healing and restoration.

July 22, 2013 by Guest

State Department reaches out to Interns to Spread Trafficking Awareness

Written by: Jessica Garber – Intern at Shared Hope International

An overview of the Fifth Annual Intern Roundtable on Trafficking in Persons, hosted by U.S. State Department, to which Shared Hope International sent representation.

TIP-roundtable — The official Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons’ Twitter account: @JTIP_State

Monday, July 22^nd, Senior Advisor to Secretary Kerry and head of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons of the U.S. Department of State, Ambassador Luis CdeBaca hosted the Fifth Annual Intern Roundtable on Trafficking in Persons. Representatives from organizations across the Metro area were gathered for the event, some of whom had never learned about the issue of human trafficking until that very day. The unique part of the event is that it was about far more than numbers and more than the tier-rankings that appeared in the 2013 Trafficking in Persons Report—it was purely about the importance of joining the effort to combat worldwide human trafficking.

Ambassador CdeBaca spoke directly to my fellow interns and I, who are working with trafficking awareness groups, saying that many professionals in this area believe that they will one day be working next to us as colleagues. However, Ambassador CdeBaca inspired the audience by declaring that we have already joined the fight as colleagues by dedicating our time and energy to this stringent issue, empowering the future professionals in this area. He proceeded to tell a story of a young woman who was being trafficked and did not speak English, and every day when her trafficker would leave she would sneak the English dictionary and write a few words down on a piece of paper. After a few weeks, those groups of written words formed a note for help, which she tossed over the fence of the residence where she was being held captive. Because of her refusal to give up and determination to communicate this issue to others, help found her note and her life was forever restored.

It is groundbreaking stories such as this one that we don’t hear when we read a statistic that states the number of victims. Special Agent David Rogers, a panelist, remarked that this number of victims is in existence and it is not going away; therefore, we should remove our focus from trying to decipher this total and focus our energy on trying harder to eliminate the issue altogether. He advocated for a victim-centered approach to become the “norm” in our society, and that these women and children are being sold are victims, and if given the chance would give anything to lead a better life. Agent Rogers also discussed how human trafficking is so unique from other crimes because the damage that is imposed upon the victims is psychological—an extreme detriment to mental health, and even brain development in child victims.

Ambassador CdeBaca concluded posing a powerful inquisition: when these victims run toward freedom and walk into their new lives, will we walk with them? That is what we need to make our life mission—speaking for those who cannot.

July 9, 2013 by Guest

Recap of 2012 National Colloquium Report Release

Written by: Jessica Garber – Intern at Shared Hope International

NAtCo1 — Efforts to Overcome Obstacles to Victim Restoration: 2012 NatCo Release

On Monday, July 8^th, Shared Hope International hosted the release of our 2012 National Colloquium Report, which presents a wealth of perspectives from over 100 provider, survivor, government, advocacy, and funding experts on emerging trends and barriers encountered in attempting to secure restorative shelter and services for juvenile sex trafficking victims and survivors. Moderated by Shared Hope’s Director of Programs, Eliza Reock, the briefing included remarks from leaders in the efforts to combat minor sex trafficking, such as Shared Hope’s Founder, President, and former Congresswoman Linda Smith, Acting Director of the Office for Victims of Crime of the U.S. Department of Justice, Joye Frost, as well as survivor and anti-trafficking advocate Wilthelma TiOra “T.” Ortiz Walker Pettigrew.

15 years ago, Congresswoman Smith started an organization that shed light on a different kind of survivor of a violent crime—the sex-trafficking victim. She spoke of how even though there was a shift in focus to domestic minor sex trafficking between the years of 2005 and 2006, Shared Hope recognized that global services were still needed. To become fully knowledgeable about the subject, Linda and other Shared Hope staff members traveled internationally to meet and speak with survivors. Our organization emphasizes the importance of victim restoration, and understands how crucial the role of long-term restoration is to ensuring that each victim can lead a permanently better life. Our National Colloquium Report uncovers obstacles that victims tend to face while trying to enter this restoration process.

Joye Frost, Director of the Office for Victims of Crime of the U.S. Department of Justice, followed shortly after by discussing the challenges faced when attempting to collect data that adds to the knowledge base of domestic minor sex trafficking: funding, logistics, and the population of victims, which is a difficult population to identify. It is these obstacles that lead to a lack of basic victimization statistics that drive funding, policy, and legislation. Frost stated that the FBI will now collect data on sex and labor trafficking, which could help efforts immensely. She concluded with one certainty—involvement definitely makes a difference; it is vital that the victimized children have a caring and non-judgmental adult in their lives.

T. Ortiz, who was a victim in “the life” from ages 10-17, now holds the esteemed title of being one of Glamour Magazine’s 2011 Women of the Year and a leader of the Human Rights Project for Girls. She spoke about the importance of empowering these victims on all levels, and celebrating and encouraging smaller accomplishments and their personal talents, as well as available opportunities. Since the victims are all different people, with different interests and passions, it is important that therapy can be held in different settings. For example, art therapy or a life coach may be more beneficial for one young woman as opposed to strictly a psychologist.

These three speakers, along with the other panel of talented contributors, gave incredible insight into what issues victims face when seeking restoration, why these issues exist, and suggestions on how to eradicate them. Shared Hope will continue to provide in-depth research to continue this fight for knowledge which can ultimately lead to long-term and positively life-altering restoration for minor sex trafficking victims.

The 2012 National Colloquium Report is available for download here: http://sharedhope.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/National-Colloquium-2012-Report-B.pdf

The Report Release can be viewed here: http://vimeo.com/69921098