Jesus Creed
This is a letter from Kim Jones, an advocate for justice in the Dallas area and who is organizing with others actions that will help prevent human trafficking at the SuperBowl. Please read and ponder and pray and act.
Over the past year most of you have been receiving my email on human trafficking. It has been an unbelievable experience for me and for others as well. It has caused many to think, pray and want to become further involved in the issue. What I had not expected was the transformation that came about in my own life. I now had a desire to not just speak of justice, but to try and figure out how to practice it in tangible ways. At the same time my dear friend Heather Crane, wife of PGA golfer Ben Crane, and I had been talking and dreaming about what we as two moms could do to help with this problem.
From those conversations came the idea of doing an awareness campaign during the Super Bowl. This idea led to making connections with the International organization Love146, an organization in which Heather serves on the board. They liked our vision and wanted to help make it a reality.
You might ask “Why the Super Bowl?” The following is an excerpt from an article I wrote for a publication produced by my church. My hope is that when you read these words you too will desire to get involved in some way.
Perhaps you’ve heard there’s a big game coming to town in the month of February. It’s estimated that over 100,000 people will attend the game in person and over 100 million will watch it on television. Much has been done and is being done to prepare for this great event. According to the Dallas Morning News, the projected economic impact will be about $611.7 million – a potential record.
An event like this does more than just encourage economic growth for a region. What you might not know is that sporting events like this often are accompanied by a dark side. Because of the nature of the event – with many visitors in town away from their families and without accountability – there is an increase in demand for prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation. With this influx comes a demand for human trafficking. According to the Department of Justice, “children trafficked into prostitution are often found around major sporting events. Since children are often more vulnerable, they are easy to move and in high demand, they make ideal victims to travel to major sporting events.” Some pimps and traffickers will rent a house or an apartment (or even a block of houses) temporarily near the stadium to establish a brothel.
Who are the traffickers targeting? According to the article “Risk Factors of Minor Domestic Sex Trafficking Victims,” most of these exploited children are affected by the following:
• Poverty
• Sexual abuse
• Family substance/physical abuse
• Individual disabilities
• Loss of parent/caregiver
• Runaway/throwaway
• Sexual identity issues
• Lack of support systems
One of the most vulnerable segments of the population are children and teens who are homeless. Many of these kids leave their homes because of the physical, sexual, drug and alcohol abuse they encounter there. Within 48 hours of leaving home, 1 out of 3 will become a victim of human trafficking, most likely by forced prostitution and sexual exploitation.
Tragically, the average age of entry into prostitution in the United States is 12-13 years old.
Pimps know who to target and how to manipulate. They prey on those that are most vulnerable. At risk children are seduced with promises of love or a better life. Some are drawn in through “friendships” they develop online. But once lured in, there is virtually no way out. Their dignity is stripped from them as they are raped, beaten, drugged and made into a commodity. But this kind of commodity is unlike drugs or weapons, because those things can only be sold once. This commodity can be sold again and again and again.
The grim realities of human trafficking are almost more than any of us can imagine. But we need to be aware that these things aren’t just happening on the other side of the world. They’re happening much closer to home.
Thanks to all of you that have read along and prayed over the last several months. Now we need your help. Love146 is launching an awareness campaign around the Super Bowl called “It’s Not My Fault” here in the Dallas metroplex. The campaign has both short and long term goals. In the immediate time leading up to the Super Bowl our intention is to reach out to victims of trafficking as well as create public awareness of this horrendous crime. In the long term we will be working to provide prevention education for at-risk youth and aftercare for those who have been victimized. Would you consider making a financial contribution to this campaign? Any amount that you are able to give will help us combat this injustice. If you’re interested in contributing go to:
and click the “donate to love146” button. Be sure to indicate the “It’s Not My Fault” campaign in the drop down menu.
If you are in the Dallas/Ft Worth area and would like to be involved in some tangible way please don’t hesitate to email me. There will be lots of opportunities to be involved. Please continue to pray for this issue and pray that much will be done through this campaign, but most of all that lives will be changed. If you would like to hear the origin of the name “It’s Not My Fault” read this blog entry from Love146 cofounder Lamont Hiebert
http://love146.org/blog/its-not-my-fault-part-1
Much Love,
Kim Jones
“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” – Micah 6:8
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