Broken Hearted

I’m writing this post here on my personal blog rather than at ictsos.org because these are my personal feelings about this issue. They may not be the feelings of others in the group and I don’t want to speak for anyone but myself.

Sunday, March 13th. My life was about to change and I had no idea. A story ran in that day’s paper about human trafficking. I didn’t read the story until a couple of days later after seeing it retweeted on Twitter. The rest of that day I was literally sick to my stomach.

I’m a volunteer. I love helping others and I have found a lot of fun ways to do so. I photograph events for different charities. I photograph military families reuniting after a long deployment. I’ve served on committees for events and even ran a half marathon to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. All great causes. All fun events. I leave those events feeling good about what I helped with and usually have a great time doing so. Win-Win.

Reading that story of a 13 year old girl who had been sold for sex, my heart broke. I knew I wanted to do something but I had no idea what that would be. And I had no idea where it would lead.

The last few months have been a whirlwind of activity. You can catch up on all of that over at www.ictsos.org. I’ve met amazing people and yes, a lot of it has been “fun”.

But I didn’t realize when I opened this door that I was walking into something that would break my heart over and over again each day. I have heard horrible stories of girls being beaten and brutalized. Children who were sold to grown men for sex…by their own mother. Ignorant comments about how a girl who chooses to sell her body is trashy or just a kid gone bad.

But here’s the thing…what girl (or boy) would CHOOSE that? And at 11, 12, 13 years old, is that even a choice they’re equipped to make? Absolutely not. So many of these kids have run away from bad situations at home, or have been abandoned by the people who were supposed to love them unconditionally. There is so much hurt that has happened before they ever reach a point where selling their bodies for sex may be their only option for survival. Their only way to eat that night or have a place to sleep that isn’t the underneath side of a bridge.

I have spent hundreds of hours reading, creating content on our website, Twitter and Facebook, and meeting with organizations and individuals. Every day I feel driven to do something more. And every night when I go to bed I feel like I haven’t done enough.

I think about how blessed my kids are. I can’t imagine a child facing some of the things I have seen and heard. No child should ever have to. Ever.

I know that the more involved I get in this issue, the more pain I will see…and feel. I can’t help it, I’m an emotional sponge. There will be more frustration as the wheels turn slowly for change. There will be setbacks. I will have doors slammed in my face. I will be told (sometimes by my self) that I’m not the right person for this fight. I will lose sleep. I will lose tears.

But there are days when I receive a message from a survivor. Days when I get an email from someone who says, “I had no idea this was happening, how can I help?” Days when I see our community come together and stand in the middle of the Douglas Street bridge to say this has to STOP. Those days I’m encouraged to keep going forward. And at night when I lay down in my warm bed, belly full and surrounded by family, I pray. I pray that somehow it’s making a difference. I pray that I’m doing the right things. I pray that God will work through me and through ICT S.O.S. for His glory. And I pray that He will continue to break my heart for what breaks His.

 

Donation Drive Wrap-Up (Part 2)

Whew! It’s been an insane few days…but in the best way possible.

Here’s where it all started.

Then this happened.

The ball kept rolling.

The Wrap-Up (Part 1)

Which brings you up to speed! OK, where to start on yesterday’s donation drive?

My mom, Terri, and I got to Heroes a few minutes before the restaurant opened at 11. Jason, the new manager, got us set up in a great location and we set up the donation jar and bins and waited to see if anyone would show up for this crazy little idea. We didn’t wait long!

First one by one, then in groups, then in hoardes…Wichita showed up! Friends from Twitter & Facebook. Some I had met in person, some I only recognized from an avatar or profile picture. Friends from work. Strangers who read Ron Sylvester’s stories on Kansas.com or in The Wichita Eagle. More strangers who heard Heather Larson’s interview on Power 93.9 or read her blog post. And even more strangers who had the unfortunate luck of being subjected to me being a spazz on TV with KWCH‘s Rebecca Gannon.

These amazing people brought sleeping bags, socks, bedding, food, juice, pre-packaged hygiene kits, dental kits, gift cards, cash and one BIG check.

I have to give a special shout out to the folks from Alternative Gifts International. I knew they were coming. And I knew they had an interest in learning more about the Children’s Home and Street Outreach and possibly partnering with them on this issue. I didn’t realize that would include a check made out to WCH for nearly $2,200! Executive Director, Tony Princ, introduced himself to me and said he had something for us. When he handed me the envelope and I saw the number at the top of the check, the tears came immediately. (And I hug-assaulted him. More than once.)

I knew the program needed cash to help offset costs but I also know that it’s a hard time to get people to donate cash right now. So I focused on the “stuff” that people might already have around the house to donate. So I hadn’t really thought about what we might raise in terms of cash that they could use however they needed. (Have you seen the price at the gas pump lately?)

That check along with the other cash donations brought the total to over $2,300 raised for Street Outreach! (Maybe that will fill up one of the vans’ gas tanks?)

I underestimated the number of people that would actually show up but I also underestimated just HOW MUCH people would bring! Holy cow, Wichita is generous! I had cleaned out the back of my SUV and laid the seats down in preparation of loading and delivering the day’s haul. Wrong.

We filled the back of my truck, PLUS an entire Street Outreach van. And then…I went back to Heroes today and filled my SUV up again with donations that continued to come in after the event ended at 2 yesterday. The Heroes crew was nice enough to accept, store and then load the stuff up for me. They pretty much rock!

The second phase of yesterday’s activities was the volunteer orientation meeting. WCH holds these the 1st Tuesday of every month and according to Beth (the Super-Awesome Volunteer Coordinator) they usually have 8-10 people each month. We had roughly 30 of us crammed into the conference room!

Risa (Street Outreach Coordinator Extraordinaire) talked to the group a little about sexual exploitation and the conference she is attending this week in Houston with the Polaris Project. She’s excited to learn more about how to best utilize volunteers in their work.

Then Beth took over and worked her magic. She explained the needs they have for volunteers. One of the big things they are focusing on is getting small groups to come spend time with the kids. Church groups, book clubs, Red Hat groups, cooking clubs…whatever. And you can do anything from playing video games, to cooking a meal with the kids, to providing childcare for a few hours for young single mamas who need a little “me-time”! Really, any interest you have, you could come in and share with the kids for a few hours. And you can volunteer once a day, or once a year. And anything in between.

We got a tour of the facility and learned about how the different programs serve the kids through different phases of their lives and situations. From immediate trauma to recovery to independent living. Then everyone filled out their information sheets and forms for background checks and we wrapped up for the night.

Over the next week or so, Beth will meet with each of the attendees individually to talk about their interests and availability and hopefully get lots of them plugged into great volunteer positions!

So what’s next?

Andover Middle School is doing a donation drive April 11-15.

I’m meeting next week with a couple of church groups, businesses and individuals who have interest in helping as well.

The Street Outreach team is sorting and organizing donations to regroup and figure out what needs are met for now and what holes could still be filled.

I’ve been invited by the U.S. Attorney’s office to attend a symposium this summer on human rights and sexual exploitation. I’m hoping to attend.

Risa should come back from Houston with some fresh ideas and ways to capitalize on the volunteers who want to help get our kids off the streets and away from sexual exploitation.

I’ll be attending a sexual exploitation round table meeting later this month with Risa and members of the Exploited and Missing Children’s Unit, Youthville, WASAC and other individuals and agencies fighting child sex trafficking in our city.

Street Outreach is hoping to have a daytime drop-in center soon and once that happens, there will be volunteer and donation needs there.

So, you can see there is still so much work to do. We’re just scratching the surface of this problem and I hope that as we dig deeper into it and find more needs and more solutions, that Wichita will continue to support our kids. Because really, they are the bottom line in all of this. No child deserves to be abandoned, homeless, hooked on drugs and sold for sex. Ever. Anywhere.

I wish I could thank each person who contributed yesterday personally but there’s just no way. If you tweeted, facebooked, emailed, called, DM’ed, texted, donated, prayed, sent good thoughts, volunteered, learned, discussed, raised awareness, or plan to help in some way in the future…

THANK YOU!

Donation Drive Wrap-Up (Part one)

I’m home and exhausted! Today was amazing and when I have a few minutes to process everything (and breathe!) I’ll post a proper write-up of all of the things that happened today.

For now though, Ron Sylvester has put together a great wrap-up: http://www.kansas.com/2011/04/05/1794807/donations-provide-help-for-program.html

And I have to give a special shout out to Alternative Gifts International They came through in a BIG way! I’ll explain more in the next post but go “like” them on Facebook!

And the ball keeps rolling…

I wanted to update everyone on all the great things happening for Street Outreach!

The Wichita Eagle ran a front page story today on the donation drive. You can read it here: http://www.kansas.com/2011/04/04/1792447/fundraiser-will-aid-kids-forced.html

I spoke with Heather Larsen of Power 93.9’s Hitman & Heather morning radio show this morning. They’ll be running the interview on air Tuesday morning around 9am-ish. She also put together a wonderful blog post here: http://blogs.power939.com/heather/2011/04/04/donation-drive-for-wichita-childrens-home-on-tuesday-april-5/

My friends over at Wichita on the Cheap ran this story on their site: http://wichitaonthecheap.com/2011/04/03/share-from-your-stockpile-donation-drive-tuesday-at-heroes-in-old-town/

And…as I’m typing this update, I just got a call from KWCH’s Rebecca Gannon who I’ll be interviewing with in a couple hours! (Be kind…I have a face for radio, not TV!)

Edited to add link: http://www.kwch.com/news/kwch-news-rag-donations-for-homeless-wichita-teenagers-20110404,0,2390206.story

The kids at Andover Middle School will be participating in a drive during the week of April 11-15. They are excited to help out!

I’m hearing from individuals, businesses, non-profits and church groups who are planning to bring donations and/or attend the volunteer training Tuesday evening at 6pm at WCH.

The Facebook event page for the Donation Drive is here: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=204957449534420

And the wishlist can be found here: http://wch.org/images/uploads/wish_list.pdf

And if you can’t make it on Tuesday, you can donate online at: http://wch.org/index.php/giving/donate

Donation Drive

Interested in helping out the Street Outreach team?

There will be a donation drive at Heroes Sports Bar Tuesday April 5th from 11-2. Stop by over the lunch hour, grab some grub and help out a great cause.

Here’s a list of what they need right now: http://wch.org/images/uploads/wish_list.pdf

We are focusing on the Street Outreach and Bridges programs but will accept any of the items on the list.

I do know that socks/undies are a big need right now. Teen & Adult sizes for both guys and girls.

Working on some other events as well so if you can’t make this one, stay tuned!

BIG project

Hoo boy! So, the title of this blog is “I Need a Project”, right? Well, I found one. Or rather, one found me.

A story ran in The Wichita Eagle recently about the child sex trafficking problem in our city. The article was written by Ron Sylvester who I also follow on Twitter.

After reading the article I was heartbroken and sickened at what is happening right in our back yard. I made an inquiry on the website for the Wichita Children’s Home. The Children’s home has a Street Outreach Service (S.O.S.) that works with runaways, homeless and exploited children and young adults. I met with the program coordinator and learned more about what they are doing and what needs the program has. I tweeted a few more times about my experiences and the plans I was starting to form in my head. Ron picked up the ball and ran with it on his blog. About 10 minutes after he posted that story my phone, email, Twitter and Facebook pages went nuts. People wanted to know how to help, how to get involved, what to donate. My head was  spinning.

So as of right now, I am putting the pieces together as quickly but with as much care as I can. The list of immediate needs for the program can be found on the WCH Wish List and I am working on an organized drop off time and date for anyone who wants to contribute.

There is also a volunteer orientation meeting Tuesday, April 5th at 6pm at the Wichita Children’s Home. No registration is necessary. Just come and learn about the ways we can help.

This thing has gotten WAY bigger than me. I’ve been contacted by people in international trafficking prevention groups such as Love146, local organizations, church groups, social workers, and just people who want to help but haven’t known where to start. I’ve been asked to speak to a group of 150+ photographers. I even got a lovely and encouraging email from Julian Sher author of “Somebody’s Daughter” which I am currently reading.

I’m not sure why this issue struck me the way it did. I’m not experienced, I’m not knowledgeable. I’m a suburban mom and wife. I’ve never slept on the street. I’ve never even had to miss a meal. (As evidenced by my bathroom scale!) But for whatever reason, when I took that first step to find out more, God started opening door after door in front of me. And after hearing the stories of these kids and the work that S.O.S. is trying to do, how do I shut those doors and walk away? I don’t know where this will lead. I don’t know what can of worms I may have opened. Honestly, it scares me to death. But ever since reading that first story, I think about those kids all the time. I can’t shake them off.

I have daughters. The thought of either of my girls being harmed by anyone makes me ill. So how do we turn our backs on children who are being harmed in the worst imaginable ways? How do we allow children to be sold for sex? And yes, at 12, 14, even 18 years old…these are children. They are victims of circumstance. Victims of predators. Victims of a system who treats them as criminals and not as children who are being sexually abused and sold into slavery.

It’s not a pretty issue. Maybe not a politically correct one. I don’t know. But God breaks our hearts for the things that break His. And I’m heartbroken for these kids. How do you love someone you’ve never met? Someone whose face you’ve never seen? Someone who society has thrown away? I can’t explain it to myself, let alone anyone else. I just know that while I am in no way qualified to take on this task, I’m going to try. And I can’t wait to see what our community can do to show these kids that they are valuable and loved and better than their situation.