Tia,
This is a great post! It reminded me of a conversation I was having with a Chicagoan about the fact that President Lincoln may have freed the slaves, but human trafficking of women and & children still occurs in this country. I pointed out to the liberal yankee that ICE has billboards posted on certain highways in Texas about victims that are smuggled into the US from Mexico.
This conversation was an extension of the yankee's idea that if President Obama banned all guns in the US, then no one would ever be killed by a gun. Ok, the yankee is a
MORON, but it lead to the discussion about human trafficking and that the fact that it still occurs underground in this country.
No one should ever be held against their will or be forced to do something they don't want to do. Many of these victims can get introduced to social service agencies that can help them if they just would talk to any law enforcement officer and ask for help.
My ex-sister-in-law was the Director for a battered woman's home. The shelter was set-up nice. (1) the victims (called clients) were taken to an office by the police officer. A shelter person would in-take the person and assess their needs. Another shelter person would then drive the victim to the actual shelter, which has no signage or actual mailing address. New arrivals were counseled on the rules such as meal times, never disclose the address/location to anyone, etc. There the staff would make the victims comfortable and provide information on the various options available to the vicitms to take the next steps. The shelter would provide daycare and transportatoin so that women could look for and go to work during the day. The shelter also had legal aid volunteers to assist with restraining orders, etc.
Since the shelter never had enough money, My ex SIL would volunteer me to perform handyman services, painting, electrical, plumbing, etc. However, as a rule for safe sanctuary. None of the client-residents were allowed to be near me while I worked and vice versa. The shelter's mission was give the victims a temporary place to feel safe so that they could participate in the process of figuring out what kind of help they needed to avoid becoming revictimized. Oh yeah, No Sex in the Shelter of any kind!
Not every social services agency will ask about or report a victim's immigration status. Help is always available if you just ask. Victims just have to take a chance and ask for help!
Quote:
Originally Posted by tia travels
At one of the hotels I was at recently, on a car of soap, was a sticker. I don't know if 1 person put it there who may be part of the "hotline" or if the hotel had this on every soap they set out, but I thought it was a good idea to have it there.
The sticker/note read:
Are you being forced to do anything you do not want to do?
Have you been threatened if you try to leave?
Have you witnessed young girls being prostituted?
If so, PLEASE call:
1-888-3737-888
National Human Trafficking Hotline
I'm posting it here because I'm sure some gents run into women they might have wondered about....and I'm sure maybe some girls might read this and it might give them incentive to get out of a bad situation (if they are able).
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My Bio Page - Indiana
(PSA): National Human Trafficking
My Bio Page - Kansas City Metro
