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From the Plains to the Mountains

08-10-2011

50 State Tour, churches, Travel, universities

On Monday, September 26th we held a community screening of Sex+Money in Sioux Falls, South Dakota at the Avera Education Center. There were a lot of graduate students from the Masters of Social Work Program at University of South Dakota, so it was a crowd that will most likely come into contact with the most vulnerable populations of their communities. The panel after the film included South Dakota Senator Joni Cutler, the main sponsor of the Senate Bill that made human trafficking a crime in South Dakota; Elizabeth Talbot, the Director of the Masters of Social Work program at University of South Dakota, who has spent many years of her life researching human trafficking; Ashley, a representative of Be Free Ministries, an organization that works with victims of trafficking in the Sioux Falls area; and Chris Mathew, the Director of Program Development for The GOD’S CHILD Project and its human trafficking program, The Institute for Trafficked, Exploited, & Missing Persons (ITEMP). While many people might disregard South Dakota when thinking of sex trafficking, panelists reminded the audience that even in their rural state, sex trafficking is still a serious issue. With the tourism generated by hunting, and the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, not to mention the constant flow of homeless/runaway youth passing through on Interstate 90, unfortunately sex trafficking is flourishing in South Dakota.

(Panel discussion in Sioux Falls, SD.)

Even though in the last year South Dakota passed legislation to make human trafficking illegal, they had difficulty in passing a more specific Safe Harbor law that would have identified any prostituted person under 16 years of age as a victim, rather than a criminal. Mathew noted how even if Safe Harbor laws were passed, as it stands now there would not be enough services in place (basic necessities like shelter and beds…) to care for the victims. He went on to say that the Midwest and Plains states are in need of more groups like Be Free Ministries, who make themselves available for those who might escape from lives of commercial sexual exploitation.

(Panel Discussion at University of Nebraska.)

On Friday September 30th, we shared our film at University of Nebraska as part of The 2011 Interdisciplinary Conference on Human Trafficking that ran from September 29th through October 1st. After the film, the panel included many of the same people who served on the panel at Iowa State University a few weeks before: US Attorney Stephen Patrick O’Meara, Detective John Focht from Council Bluffs Police Department, and an FBI Special Agent. Additionally we were honored to have Siddharth Kara sit in on the panel. With 11 years (and counting) of self-financed research on global human trafficking, Mr. Kara is the first Fellow on Human Trafficking at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. He has also authored Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Day Slavery, and is in the process of writing another book on similar subject matter. Mr. Kara shares his knowledge throughout our film, and his insight has been extremely helpful, as he is a strong believer in the necessity of creating an informed abolitionist movement.

(Siddharth Kara.)

In the discussion, it was clear that even though there is a constant need for greater cohesion in the anti-trafficking movement, US Attorney O’Meara, Detective Focht, and the Special Agent showed at least a glimpse of what can happen in our country when groups of committed individuals work together to stamp out exploitation in our communities. Regarding the different forces that would motivate the profiteers behind sex trafficking, Mr. Kara said, “It’s a very compelling economic opportunity with very little risk involved with it.” Furthermore, Kara called for our law enforcement to “bring cost and risk to bear against the offenders.”

(The Badlands in South Dakota.)

Over the weekend, as we headed towards Bozeman, Montana for an event at Montana State University on Monday, we were blessed to pass through the beautiful country in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. We made some quick stops at Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Old Faithful, and observed different animals we saw along the roads within Yellowstone. It would have been great to explore the beautiful reserve of land and wildlife more extensively, but we’ll just need to return for more sightseeing when we aren’t under the constraints of a tight schedule.

(The bus at Mt. Rushmore.)

(Wildlife in the Badlands of South Dakota.)

(Yellowstone Lake.)

(A hot spring near Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park.)

(Buffalo stare down.)

By the time Monday, October 3rd, came around, it was time to screen the film at Montana State University, in partnership with the Amnesty International student group on their campus. After the film, the narrators (this author included) all served on a panel to field audience questions about trafficking. Many of our past panel experiences have felt awkward; but thankfully, Monday’s panel was significantly more natural. Though we still feel like we have a lot to learn, we were confident in passing along the information, stories, and concepts that have helped us in our own personal journeys of learning how to combat sex trafficking in the US.

(Autumn, Tim, Sarah-Jo, Scott, and Morgan serving on the panel at Montana State University in Bozeman.)

On Tuesday, October 4th, we drove a ways up the road from Bozeman to show the film at Meadow View Community Church in Missoula, Montana. The church is already aware of domestic minor sex trafficking, as they’ve partnered with Pat McCollough, the former President of the restoration home highlighted in our film, Streetlight Phoenix. Meadow View had already heard information and stories from Mr. McCollough, and other former victims who have come to speak at the church with him; so in a way our film served as a supplement to what they already know of this challenge in our country. Talking to members of the congregation, it was burdensome to hear the stories of past abuses (as we hear with most groups,) but it was uplifting to hear how even formerly-hurting people in their church are learning to move on to a place of reaching out and helping others in their area who are still desperate to have their own stories salvaged.

(Isaac Gill and Jasen Chung at Meadow View Community Church in Missoula, MT.)

(Isaac Gill.)

Our team is currently in Portland, as we’ve had screenings in Bend and Portland over the last two days. We’re doing our best to enjoy the little bit of time we have in the Northwest before heading towards Boise for our screenings there at the beginning of next week.

All photos by Samuel Taipale.

Moving Through the Midwest

By: timothycdyk

21-09-2011

50 State Tour, churches, Travel, universities

(In the Michigan woods. Photo: Scott James Martin.)

Our time in Michigan proved to be restful as well as constructive. Between walks in the forest and wiffleball, a few of us also took some time to help our hosts with some wood splitting. Before leaving Michigan, the IJM student group at University of Michigan, hosted a screening of Sex+Money on Monday, September 12th. Afterwards panelists Julie Redmer, a board member of Women at Risk International; Carmen Kusinich, an FBI Victim Specialist who works with victims of trafficking in Western Michigan; and Jane White, the Director of the Michigan Human Trafficking Task Force (that includes over 90 member organizations,) responded to questions from the audience. Addressing the adequacy of Michigan’s legislation for human trafficking, Jane White mentioned that the further their task force gets involved with these issues, they find things in the law they weren’t previously aware of, that can often help with prosecutions. But White also went on to emphasize the need to care for survivors of trafficking, saying, “…what hasn’t happened is the support of the victim.”

(Students finding seats at the University of Michigan.)

(Outside the Abbey Pub in Chicago.)

The next day we journeyed eastward to Chicago where we had been able to make arrangements for a screening less than one week prior. We didn’t know what type of event it would be; we just had contact with a church that meets at the Abbey Pub, in Chicago’s Irving Park neighborhood. When we arrived, we were surprised to learn that even though it looks like a small venue, it has hosted a plethora of bands including The Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, Wilco, and Mumford & Sons. Even though it was a smaller audience, we were thankful to have the chance to share the film with a lot of our friends who call Chicago home, as well as a few new acquaintances. After the film, Isaac Gill and Megan Perry performed a few of their songs that are on the recently released Sex+Money: Listening For Human Worth music compilation that is now available in our online store.

(Megan Perry and Isaac Gill.)

(Showing the film at Iowa State University.)

Last Thursday our team rolled into Ames, Iowa for our screening at Iowa State University. We were honored to have some human trafficking experts make the drive over from Omaha, Nebraska to serve on the panel after the film. Panelists included US Attorney Stephen Patrick O’Meara; an FBI agent from the Omaha Division; Detective John Focht, from the Vice Department at the Council Bluffs PD; and Brittany, a survivor of domestic minor sex trafficking. Since we had such experienced panelists, we were glad to have a broad window of time for audience questions.

(Morgan Perry moderating the panel at Iowa State University. Panelists L-R: US Attorney Stephen Patrick O’Meara; and FBI agent, Detective John Focht, and Brittany, a survivor of domestic minor sex trafficking.)

Speaking from the standpoint of someone who, as a young teenager, ran away from an unstable living situation and was tricked into sex trafficking, Brittany was able to bring the reality of this issue one step closer to the audience. As she talked about her life after rehabilitation and being placed with a stable foster home, she said, “I had a place to live and a loving family. I didn’t want to give that up or go back to what I was doing.” Her comments emphasized the reality that domestic minor sex trafficking is not a story of numbers and graphs; it’s the story of men and women who are looking for a place where they are valued and respected, even on the most basic level of humanity.

Towards the end of the discussion, as Panelist O’Meara was directing the audience back to looking at the human element of sex trafficking, he said, “If you look at what is thrown at people today, it isn’t just sexual dehumanization. There’s a tendency not to see the human element of the one who is victimized.” O’Meara then proceeded to emphasize the role that individual communities can play in fighting these crimes, saying, “The real answer is cultural; government can never solve this…the solution is sitting out here in the seats.” He concluded with the question, “How do we measure what it means to be human, and from that how do we determine what it means to be a victim?…When you have to get back to dealing with people, this all looks a lot different.”

(Praise Community Church in Mason City, Iowa.)

On Friday the 16th, with the help of Praise Community Church, we showed the film at North Iowa Community College in Mason City, Iowa. We were grateful that the local television news station promoted the screening, with narrator Sarah Jo Sampson making an appearance in their studio. We enjoyed the opportunity to share the film with Praise Community, as well as many of Sarah Jo’s relatives who live in Iowa.

(Metrobrook Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.)

On Sunday, we went into Milwaukee, Wisconsin for a screening at Metrobrook Church. The church meets in a traditional style church building, which, before being purchased by Metrobrook a couple of years ago, was set aside for demolition. As we shared the film in the redeemed physical building of Metrobrook Church, it was easy to draw parallels to the countless lives in our nation that, though abused and torn down, are in need of being brought to redemption. Some might be formerly prostituted or abused, while others might be recovering from addictions to pornography, while others might be the johns and traffickers themselves. As we continue to share the film in a diversity of audiences and settings, we are reminded of the hope we have that even from hurt and despair, neglected potential can be recovered, and new structures can be constructed.

Photos by Samuel Taipale (unless otherwise noted.)

Back to the Farm

By: timothycdyk

31-08-2011

50 State Tour, churches, Travel, universities

After the event at the Old South Meeting House in Boston, we proceeded on towards Providence, Rhode Island to show the film at the University of Rhode Island the next day. This early in the school year, it has usually been a challenge to bring out people for events at universities; though we were grateful to see a good turnout in Providence.

(Panel discussion at University of Rhode Island.)

After finishing in Providence, we navigated our way back towards New York City. We knew it would have been next to impossible to navigate the streets of Manhattan in the bus, so we were quite fortunate to be able to park the bus at Church at the Gateway, located in Staten Island, just south of Manhattan. From the beginning of filming Sex+Money, we have been blessed by the hospitality of many of the members from Church at the Gateway, as they’ve housed us, fed us, encouraged us, and shared their lives with us. Two Sundays ago we were finally able to share the completed film with their church; it was extremely life giving to share the finished work with a group that has believed in the vision of the film from the very beginning.

(The band plays after the screening at Church at the Gateway in Staten Island.)

(Associate Producer Lindsay Diederichs introduces the film at Church at the Gateway.)

(Looking towards Manhattan from Staten Island.)

On Monday the 22nd, we were excited to screen the film in downtown Manhattan, at the Times Square Arts Center, at an event that was sponsored by Stop Child Trafficking Now. There are a lot of groups and individuals in New York City who are at the forefront of combatting sex trafficking in their communities. Since they’re already wrestling with what it looks like to combat these systematic injustices that are happening in their city, we hope that our film was able to grant some insight and ideas to their work. The film was followed by a panel discussion that included Criminal Prosecutor Amanda Kramer, Attorney Lauren Burke, FBI Victim Specialist Laura Riso, Faith Huckel of Restore NYC, and FBI Supervisory Special Agent Evan Nicholas, who is also the program manager for the FBI’s Innocence Lost National Initiative. The highly accredited panel spoke on a variety of the facets of trafficking, but they directed the audience back to some practical points of action for the New York City area.

(Watching the film at The Times Square Arts Center.)

(Panelist Laura Riso responds to a question from the audience, while panelists Lauren Burke, Evan Nicholas, Faith Huckel, and Amanda Kramer listen.)

One point of discussion centered on the need for people that are willing to invest time to mentor and walk beside vulnerable teenagers. The average age of entry into prostitution is 12-13 years old, and when young people haven’t had anyone investing in their lives, or telling them of their value, they become all the more vulnerable to those that would prey on their vulnerabilities. FBI Victim Specialist Laura Riso gave a statistic that between May 2010 and May 2011, there were approximately 25,000 foster children in New York State, 14,658 of whom live in New York City. With these numbers in mind, it becomes apparent that there is a significant demographic of young people in our nation who are currently in need of healthy mentorship. Volunteering time towards young teens may sound very basic, but it is a real need, and a role in which a basic level of compassion might take precedence over “expertise.”

(Panelist Lauren Burke responds to a question from the audience.)

Our next stop was New Jersey, where we were able to arrange a screening on short notice at Grace Christian Church in Tinton Falls. Though we had attempted to book a screening at a university in New Jersey, nothing had opened up in the academic realm; but, we were glad to have the chance to share the film with another community that has taken an interest in the issue.

Last Friday we headed up to State College, Pennsylvania to screen to film at Penn State University. Even though it was the first week of school, and our event was competing with all the other festivities of welcome week (outdoor block parties, awkward introductions, free food, inflatable obstacle courses) we still had a healthy turn-out for the film, thanks largely to the work of the newly established chapter of Free the Slaves that is now on the campus. Even though this was the first event the chapter has put on at Penn State, in a way, the film could be an introduction to the challenges of domestic minor sex trafficking for people that haven’t yet learned much about it. In a University setting, as people grow willing to ask the challenging questions about domestic minor sex trafficking and its underlying roots, we believe that pathways will be paved to address the needs of the most marginalized groups within our society.

(Native Pennsylvanian Scott introduces the film at Penn State.)

Yesterday our team arrived back to Toano, Virginia, where we are preparing for our next two screenings. This Friday we’ll be at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond; and on Monday we will be at Liberty University in Lynchburg. If you’re in the Virginia area, we’d be honored if you were to pay us a visit at either of the screenings.

All Photos by Samuel Taipale.

Pig-Pickin’ and Packin’

By: timothycdyk

04-08-2011

Church Screenings, churches, screening, the road, Travel

Last week the Sex+Money crew began to stream into Toano, Virginia from all corners of the US, and even some distant corners of the globe. On Thursday and Friday we began orientation to go over the details of the vigorous travel and event schedule that is to come. Even though most of our team members have met before, it was a good time for us to grow together as a family and community, as we sang songs, ate homemade food, drank sweet tea, explored the spacious Virginian outdoors, and tried our best to stay sheltered from the sweltering humidity. Sunday night we had what the Virginians like to call a pig-pickin’, which is basically a bar-b-q where the attendees work together to consume a slow-roasted pig and other tantalizing potluck dishes and refreshments. Guests from Williamsburg and the surrounding areas came together to hang out with our team, eat, and pray for us before we headed out on tour. As we gathered with old friends and new acquaintances in the shade of a giant pecan tree, our team was encouraged to know that we were being sent out with the support of such a warm community.

We’ve also been developing new skills in packing, as we’ve filled the RV with all the “necessary” accouterments for the four-and-a-half month journey that lies ahead. On Monday, our 15 team members officially set to the road, traveling north on interstate 95 to screen the film at Trinity Church in Lutherfield, Maryland, just outside of Baltimore. On Tuesday we woke up and traveled into one of the last un-developed areas of Baltimore to see the property of The Samaritan Woman, a ministry that is getting ready to host 16 survivors of sex trafficking, beginning October first of this year. On a tour around the property, we were inspired by the stories of provision and restoration that have taken place on the once neglected property. There are still some preparations that need to be made before they open their doors, but as they recover the land and rehabilitate antiquated Victorian-style buildings, the staff of The Samaritan Woman are reminded of the renewal that will take place in the lives of the women that will soon call the property home.

Last night we screened the film at Calvary Assembly of God in Dover, Delaware, and this evening we’re showing the film at Life Center Ministries in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. We plan to travel north through New England for the next few screenings at churches, and we plan to head back down through New England by the time Universities are in session. Even so early in our trip we’ve been surprised by the hospitality of our contacts and the willingness of people across the US to welcome us into their communities, universities, churches, and homes. We intend to drive in three giant swaths across the nation: west across the northern states, back east through the central states, and back west again through the southern states. Putting it simply, we are running from the cold and chasing the sun. We hear it’s hard to drive large recreational vehicles in snow and ice.

In other news, the Sex+Money store has officially launched! 75 percent of the proceeds from our merchandise will go towards Streetlight Phoenix, a restoration home that can serve up to 48 survivors of domestic minor sex trafficking. So please, get some hip gear, help support an awesome restoration home, and look good in the process.

All Photos by Samuel Taipale.

From the Plains to the Mountains

Moving Through the Midwest

Back to the Farm

Sex+Money Tour

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