Relentless Pursuit

It’s time to quit reading and quoting the statistics and change them!! #berelentless #rpor #endit

This season in the anti-trafficking field has been exhausting. With the increase in attention to the movement with #epstein, #Wayfair, and #savethechildren, peo...ple are inundated with misinformation about #trafficking in the US. Not only is it making my work harder, but it is making my healing harder too. For five years, from the ages of 23 to 27, I was under the control of two different pimps. Over that time, I had over 45 contacts with medical professionals, 14 interactions with law enforcement, and racked up 11 prostitution-related arrests. Not once was I screened for trafficking. Not once was I offered resources. NOT. ONCE. I was invisible. I was one of the unseen. It reinforced what my pimps told me daily: "No one cares about you. No one can help you. You are choosing this. This is your purpose in life." You see, I wasn't kidnapped out from under my bed in middle class suburbia like in #Taken. I wasn't snatched out of a shopping cart at #Ikea or #Walmart. I wasn't shipped across the country in a cabinet. No, I walked amongst you in broad daylight. No mask. No chains. I smiled when I was told to. My ads were posted on #backpage and other similar sites. I was sweet and compliant, a pleaser. I just didn't want to be beaten again so I obeyed. I just wanted to see my children at the end of the night so I did what I was made to. I was groomed by a man who I thought was my boyfriend, who earned my trust and learned my vulnerabilities. I was trafficked by people who promised me love and protection. I was bought by men in middle class neighborhoods who were married with children and had good paying jobs and respected positions in their communities. Why didn't I "just leave"? I did. Six times. I moved in the middle of the night. I changed my phone number. I left the state. I got a permanent restraining order. It didn't matter. My pimps were relentless, convincing, and above the law. When love and promises didn't work, death threats, stalking, and social isolation tactics were utilized. Curious what trafficking looks like? In 95%+ of cases, it doesn't look like stranger abductions. It looks like me: a young single mom, recently divorced from an abusive alcoholic, new in a big city with no work experience and no college education. Trafficking looks like the perfect storm of gender, racial, and economic inequalities and oppression. Traffickers look like friends, family, community members. This. This is trafficking in America. #mythbusters #traffickingtruths

Working on expanding the drop-in center already!! We are adding a dressing room, another bathroom, a little library, an art class space, and a large dining tabl...e. Thanks Valerie Spaw Rapp for letting us borrow your husband until all hours of the morning..lol. He does amazing work!! Relentless Pursuit See more

Thanks for what you guys are doing and the example you set!

Missing Kids Monday: Keep an eye out for Ashley Gillam, Ironton, MO. Missing since December 19th. Any information should be relayed to the Iron County Police Department. More information in link. Please share! https://www.missingkids.org/poster/NCMC/1409185/1/screen

4 on Friday, 6 on Saturday, & 11 on Sunday! Yes, 21 girls served this weekend. 21 belly’s full, 21 clean set of cloths, 21 smiles, 21 seeds planted. That’s what we are doing at Christine’s Places. If you want to get involved or help in some way hit us up. We need cloths, cold weather boots, hot food, volunteers, security, and many other things. Imagine what we could do together, open more days and more hours! #berelentless #rpor

Two of my favorites! Get in the fight with us.