ANGEL OF HOPE

A letter from Linda Smith…thought provoking for sure

Dear Carla,  

Let’s say there is just ONE THING you could do to protect the innocence of your child, grandchild, niece or nephew or neighbor.  Just one thing you could do to protect that child from becoming a statistic - a victim of sex slavery.

Would you put your energy into educating the child about the lurking danger?

Would you make sure law enforcement would react immediately and effectively if the child was taken?

Would you open a home where your child could recover, once victimized?

Would you enact severe penalties for sex traffickers?

Would you stop buyers from buying children for sex?

Depending on your level of awareness about the issue, and perhaps the children in your life, your answer may vary.  Personally,  I am always driven to this conclusion: “if there were no buyers of sex with children, there would be no sex traffickers, and no child victims.”   

Holly told me about the buyers she experienced during her first night - the night she became a 14-year-old outlet for the sexual fantasies of a businessman, college boys, and a man who told her she reminded him of his granddaughter … but raped her anyway.

I know you want to change the world for girls like Holly.  

So do I!  That’s why on December 1st,  Shared Hope released a report card for every state that identifies weaknesses in their laws that leave children vulnerable and unprotected.  You won’t be surprised to learn that the category of law we weighted most heavily towards the final grade had to do with provisions to end demand.  This report card,  The Protected Innocence Challenge, does not just expose inadequate laws, but it includes concrete recommendations for how to improve them.

Shared Hope is working hard in America…but Holly’s experience is not uniquely American!  No, not by a long shot!  Those of you who have been with me in this battle for years know that the problem extends from India to Jamaica, from Fiji to Cambodia, from New Orleans to Missouri-everywhere there is a buyer, a vulnerable child, an opportunity.

If you contributed to our matching challenge in December, thank you for helping us complete 2011 on a high note.    

I am deeply grateful for your support and I ask that you continue to stand with me in 2012. 

Great to see our City leaders taking a big stand…saying they want the Johns arrested instead of these girls…yay Mayor McGinn

Raising awareness of human trafficking
Mayor McGinn joined elected officials and law enforcement members from across the region on Wednesday to raise awareness of human trafficking in our region. King County Councilmember Jane Hague, Port of Seattle Commissioner Gael Tarleton, City Attorney Pete Holmes, and Seattle City Councilmembers Sally Bagshaw, Sally Clark and Tim Burgess joined Mayor McGinn to recognize national Human Trafficking Day and speak about the extent of the problem.

“A critical tactic for fighting human trafficking is raising the public’s awareness of the issue,” said Mayor McGinn. “Exploiting people for any reason – whether it be for sex, labor or profit – is unacceptable in this city. That’s why I will continue to work with my fellow elected officials and law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Conference of Mayors this month in Washington D.C., to protect Seattle from this violation of basic human rights.”

Read more about our work to combat human trafficking, including our ongoing efforts to change backpage.com’s policies so that we reduce in human trafficking.

It’s National Anti Trafficking Day tomorrow Check it out…a great event to recognize the Body Shop

Good morning!

I wanted to share with you all news that Attorney General McKenna will be receiving accepting roughly 720,000 signatures The Body Shop collected as part of its US campaign to end human trafficking. In total, The Body Shop collected more than 7 million signatures—the 720,000 represent US signatories only.

AG McKenna will accept the signatures at a news conference in Seattle on National Human Trafficking Day, Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 4 p.m. at the Pacific Place Body Shop.  The Body Shop selected AG McKenna to receive these signatures because, as the 2011-12 President of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG),  he has made fighting human trafficking his presidential initiative. For more about his “Pillars of Hope” initiative, please visit the NAAG Web site: http://naag.org/2011-2012-presidential-initiative.php

We would love it if you would join us to show your support for ending modern-day slavery. Please share with others who support this cause—and please let me know if you plan to attend so we can plan to recognize you or your organization in AG McKenna’s remarks.

Wow Making a difference across the US at the Dreamcenter.

Great story to listen to…listen all the way through. Wow very cool stuff. I keep thinking about the story Kathy shared yesterday and Ciara just brought a girl from our area here….very cool.

Protected Innocence Initiative Executive Briefing - Thursday, December 01, 2011 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

This is on right now….the grades our out:

http://www.sharedhope.org/Home/ProtectedInnocenceInitiative.aspx#ak
Washington is up to a B from LY at a C so making progress…still more to do. Great progress…let’s continue building awareness…we can do our part.

Today is the day we must spread the word on Human trafficking

Okay so today is the day that we are to spread awareness on Human trafficking. See the newly launched video below. This happens in our backyard. We must do our part to be sure people here know that. It is in Downtown Seattle and in your neighborhood.

Human trafficking can happen to anyone. Watch the new A21 video “In Her Shoes” that just launched today for #KEY2FREE! http://a21.gr/InHerShoes

Komo Story on Girls being Trafficked in Seattle

Wow on Sunday night Komo 4 news had a story on Girls(minors) being trafficked in Seattle.

It started with a story about a 15yr old Auburn gal who had a friend that promised great things for her if she came with her to Seattle. So she ran away. When she was in Seattle she met a guy and within 24 hrs she was being sold on Back Page.com and within 36hrs she had a pimp. She was raped and beat by him over and over. Luckily her story ended on a better note than most.After 108 days of her being in this situation on August 23 2010 there was a police sting set up through Back Page and Barudi Thompson (pimp) was arrested and eventually sentenced to 26 yrs behind bars.

Did you know that 5-700 minors a week are trafficked in Seattle alone? I was blown away when they said this. I had to rewind and listen again to be sure I heard it right. They are sold nightly in Bellevue, Mercer Island, Tacoma and Bellingham. Yes this is happening right in our back yard.

They mentioned a new tactic that is being used by pimps hiring 15-16 yr old boys going into schools to be recruiters and spotters.

Last year in Seattle we recovered 81 children after being trafficked.

Read more by going to Komo 4 website. There is a story beign written called. “Sold Into Slavery”

There are also organizations helping right now so check it out. Go to Shared hope international site, Seattle against slavery or Compassion2One. Lets get the awareness out there…just tell everyone you know and you can make a difference.

A great event to attend

Check this event out put on by a friend of mine who has been making an impact around Sex trafficking for many years.

http://bit.ly/nVpCKc

A quick note from Alex:

Hope all is well. As you may know, I have become a community activist fighting one of the crisis of our lifetime: human trafficking. There are 27 million slaves worldwide, a staggering number, I know. It has been a great privilege over the last 4 years to volunteer in this important work to help end modern-slavery. To get a quick primer on this subject: http://bit.ly/qQDlAT

I am back from a little break

Wow last night I saw the power of my voice. Just stopped to talk with someone that I really didn’t want to stop and talk with as they looked like they were selling something. They were actually talking about Mount Rainier and getting donors to make some changes to keep it as beautiful as possible. I stopped and listened and supported by signing a card for them to bring to our legislature.

Well what this led to was me sharing about Sex Trafficking and how prevalent it is in our city here. I used the fact that Washington state is the #3 state in the US and that Westlake Mall is #1 place in WA as well that 100-300,000 minors are trafficked every year in the US and they were shocked…like I was when I first heard.

The gal ended up writing Shared Hope International website down and she is looking into it and she wanted to know how she can help….love it.

Power of the voice is my message for today.