Ambassador Posts Archives - Page 5 of 5 - Shared Hope International

June 14, 2016 by Guest

Unforgettable and Life-Changing: My Experience as a Volunteer with Shared Hope International

A Post from Stephanie Tynan.

No life is worth another man’s profit.

I had heard about sex-trafficking before I stumbled upon Shared Hope International’s website; I knew that this devastating crime existed in our world. But what I didn’t know, was how sex-trafficking is an international, multi-billion-dollar industry that is so corrupt, so heartless and so gut-wrenching. It strips the life and soul from the victims it captures and so many of the ruthless perpetrators who profit off of human life are hiding behind the shadows, without punishment.

Volunteering with Shared Hope not only gave me the chance to dedicate my time to an organization with a generous mission, but it taught me more about sex-trafficking: the signs to recognize sex-trafficking and ways to help prevent it from happening to someone I know. The employees and volunteers at Shared Hope exude selfless support, love, and encouragement to help the women and children who were or are affected by the evil that this awful crime haunts them with. The staff are friendly and they truly care about the well-being of the people who suffer from sex-trafficking. They shared their resources with me and their knowledge about the issue. I thank them for their kindness to me and for what they do to help others.

I was not aware of how incredible of an organization Shared Hope International is and I am so glad I stumbled across their website that day. Shared Hope International is doing miraculous things. I feel so honored and appreciative that I was able to work with Shared Hope and to join their mission to help end this devastating crime.

Thank you Shared Hope International.

May 18, 2016 by Guest

Finding Yourself in the Flow of Fighting Sex Trafficking

By Beth Edmonds

Yesterday I was listening while driving to the NPR talk show:Ted Radio Hour featuring Maslow’s Human Needs. I’ve been fascinated with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and often feel it’s intended to flow from the “bottom-up” with not just an individual person at its crux, but as a “we the people” all needing to flow from the “bottom-up” in order for there to ever be self-actualization experienced. It has to be done as a group. There was a part of the program that I resonated with. It was self-actualization, but that it comes only in brief interludes, and in what they called in the Ted Talk as being “in-the-flow.” It was something that you may experience but that it is only a temporary, fleeting thing: being “in-the-flow.” And then you go back to striving for “self-actualization” again. It was thought provoking as I drove into Portland.

This week I’ve been working the Shared Hope International booth at the United Methodist Church General Conference with 8000 people from around the world in attendance. (That’s a whole other story) It was kind of slow at the booth; all the attendees were occupied with church business. But somebody came by the booth so I drew them in with, “Where are you from?” The guy says, “I’m from San Jose” to which I replied, “I’m from San Jose!” He responds with, “I’m the pastor of Santa Clara UMC.” I say, “I’m speaking at your church in June!” He got so excited about meeting me (which really was a needle in a haystack kind of experience) and then asks if he can take a selfie with me so he can take it back to his congregation. It felt like one of those “in-the-flow” moments, and I found that exciting.

Originally the event in June was going to be just me talking to the United Methodist Women only, and then the door opened to present to their entire church, followed by a potluck dinner. That’s progress. That’s movement. Again, it feels like being “in-the-flow.”

This message of Sex Trafficking is for everybody in the church, which is described as the body of Christ – youth, women, men, and clergy. It’s not just for some to get involved, although all of our involvement will look differently.I’m involved in fighting sex trafficking because I feel like I have a purpose when I’m in-the-flow. Some like to call it purpose. I say it just feels right.

May 13, 2016 by Guest

She Fought Cancer so She Could Fight Sex Trafficking – Sharing Passion

What Motivates our Ambassadors?

We asked this question of several Ambassadors across the nation, and here’s one story:

A few years ago was the first time I came face to face with human trafficking. My family had the opportunity to live in Italy for my husband’s work. I began to notice women standing by the side of the road and learned they were from other countries, and had been promised jobs in hospitality. They were now being forced into prostitution. Discussing this with several friends, we were heartbroken by the day-to-day reminder of these women standing by the road, but we weren’t sure what we could do to ease their suffering.

At a regular appointment, my doctor said she had found something wrong with my throat. We flew back to the United States for a few weeks for surgery and planned to return to our beautiful new country we called home. Arriving in the United States, I was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer and told that I would need to undergo surgery and seven weeks of aggressive chemotherapy and radiation. We were told the survival rate for the type of cancer was twenty-eight percent. We would never return to our home in Italy or be able to say goodbye to our friends.

I went through the treatment surrounded by love and support from our friends and family. They cared for our son, moved our things back from Italy and encouraged us during my treatment. It was a great celebration when after several months, I was declared cancer free. However, the road to recovery was far worse than we had anticipated. I felt like my world had turned upside down as I lost my voice and my ability to swallow. I was in a lot of pain and frustrated because I couldn’t communicate.

I leaned heavily on my relationship with God and struggled to learn to speak and eat again, praying for guidance on what to do. In the silence of my new world, my mind kept going back to the women that I had seen trafficked in Italy. I read about the issue of trafficking and was horrified to learn that our own children were being bought and sold in the United States for sexual exploitation.

Although still unable to speak, I was outraged and determined to do something about the issue as soon as I had the strength. Over several months, as I began to recover, I also began volunteering with an organization that provides employment for women who have overcome situations like trafficking and domestic abuse. I wanted these women to feel as supported and loved and encouraged as I had during my darkest time. Then, the unthinkable happened. After a surgery attempt to restore my ability to swallow, I woke up in the ICU with a tracheotomy and breathing with the aid of a respirator.

I felt defeated when I lost my voice for a second time and had to learn to speak again. Leaning on God, I pushed through a very long and painful recovery. I was driven by a determination that now, more than ever, I would give a voice to those who could not speak.

As soon as I regained my voice, I began speaking to educate others about domestic minor sex trafficking. I am honored to serve as part of a nationwide network of Ambassadors of Hope and grateful to Shared Hope for equipping us with the resources to spread awareness in our communities. My story isn’t about cancer. I believe God restored my voice to speak for others who cannot. And I won’t stop.

Shannon Langford, VA Ambassador of Hope

How can you use your voice to let YOUR story be heard and motivate others to support the work of Shared Hope International?

You can help us raise funds for Shared Hope and the Ambassador Advocacy Program as our first line of defense against traffickers and abusers! Protect the young women and children in your life and community and #ShareYourPassion! Our goal for the fundraiser is to raise $15,000 by June 10th.

Did you know that last year our Ambassadors reached over 21,000 people! Let’s recruit Ambassadors and reach 50,000 people in 2016!

Get started today and #ShareYourPassion by clicking HERE!

Thank you for working to raise funds and friends!

March 13, 2016 by Guest

Things Just Got Real.

Guest Blogger: Jo Lembo

My husband Nick and I go out regularly representing Shared Hope International’s message of prevention. When we are invited into area schools, we use the film Chosen, which tells the story of two girls, ages 13 and 18, who broke the stereotypical at-risk youth picture. They were from good homes, straight-A students, athlete, cheerleader, in youth group; and still they were tricked by traffickers.

This week when we introduced the film to 2000 students in two assemblies at Skyview High School in Vancouver, WA, I told about the five most common types of pimping: boyfriend relationship, violent guerilla, gang, survival sex where you trade your body for basic needs, and familial, where someone in your family is selling you. As we always do, we encourage students who know if this happening to a friend or if it’s happening to them, to go to a trusted adult, “and sometimes it can’t be someone in your family.” Because we had met with 100 of the staff the month prior, I knew the counselors and teachers were ready to field questions and knew what actions to take if a child came forward.

After the second assembly, a security officer approached me and asked if we would be willing to talk with a 16-year-old girl who was, at that moment, in the counselor’s office and very upset. He told us she had come in after the first film showing, crying and saying she was afraid that this was happening to her.

This is when you know what you are doing is important. Really important. And possibly the lifeline for a desperate kid who has the courage to reach out. So we took a deep breath and stepped into the counselor’s office with the girl I’ll call Amanda. She struck me as being strong, almost defiant. And she was. Having heard that her family members might be the ones to groom her, and that sometimes the safe person might not be in her home, she left the first assembly determined to get help elsewhere. She stopped a security officer and told him she needed to go to the counselor’s office. He escorted her through the door, where she began to cry and unfold her story. Then, at the close of the second assembly, he came to get me. Would we be willing to talk to her?

When Nick and I arrived in her office, the school counselor had already done what she is trained to do. She had called law enforcement and had made a mandatory report to CPS sharing the details from Amanda. And she had found out that no crime had been committed yet.

Was the step-dad creepy? Yes.

Had he come into her room while she was dressing? Yes.

Had he made lewd remarks about what she could do to his body? Yes.

Had he touched her? No.

Had he threatened her? No.

Had she talked to her mother about his 9 counts of prostitution? Yes. And her mother had told her there’s nothing wrong with paying money to go on a date. Her mother also told her that she had a dirty mind and needed to stop thinking about him that way.

Was that going to stop her from sharing these things now that she had heard that Lacy and Brianna could have gotten help had they known? No. She was now determined this was not going to happen to her.

What are you most afraid of? He said he’s moving us to Portland, to an apartment on 82^nd Street. She doesn’t want to lose her support at Skyview.

With the counselor, the security guard, Amanda and us, the two presenters of the film Chosen, we talked about a plan for her to stay safe. As a part of a strong and broad network, I was able to give the counselor contact information for a wonderful victim advocate right there in her county who is willing to talk with Amanda and help her figure out what is happening and advise. We gave the counselor information about a strong program operating in Portland and the contact information of someone in the Portland school system for Amanda to reach out to if they move. Her counselor encouraged her to call 911 if anything happened to make her feel unsafe; that she had a right to call no matter what anyone would tell her. She remembered in the video Chosen the guy had told her bad things would happen to her family if Lacy asked for help, and she said she wasn’t going to let that happen. She would call.

Amanda seemed visibly stronger and more confident as we stood up to go. I handed her my card so she would have my information. I told her she is brave and strong and she is going to be okay.

And I believe she will be. Because now she knows.

For more information go to www.justfaithsummit.org

This blog post was originally part of our 2016 Faith Summit Speaker Blog Series.