——-

We invite you to come out and support

AFNAP, Street GRACE and Janie Chu!

Thursday, February 23rd

8:00 PM

The Drunken Unicorn

————————

Purchase advance tickets at Criminal, Decatur CD, Fantasy Land Records, the following CD Warehouse locations: Buford, Duluth, Kennesaw, Lawrenceville and Roswell.

Hear Atlanta’s most powerful voices take their stand against demand for child sex trade.

See you at the Capitol on Wednesday at 8:00am
There is still time to register and we hope you’ll join us.   We will gather at Central Presbyterian Church located directly across from the Capitol at 201 Washington Street SW, Atlanta, GA 30303 at 8AM.
Please wear all black and you will get your purple scarf when you sign in at registration.

Special Presentation
This year, we are excited to have indie rock artist, Janie Chu, perform her single “Dear John” from her album, The Human Condition. Get more info and purchase your copy at www.janiechu.com today.

Don’t forget to register, it’s free and easy!
This is a fun and easy way to make a difference in the lives of exploited children. Invite a friend or make friends once you get there – our children are depending on it.

See the Channel 2 article and interview below.

Group fights prostitution by putting focus on johns
Former teen prostitute speaks out

By Linda Stouffer

ATLANTA —

A woman who survived forced prostitution as a teenager tells Channel 2 Action News she thought she wouldn’t make it.

“I realized that — and this happened after many rapes and beatings from johns — I realized that if I continued I would eventually be killed,” Keisha Head told Channel 2′s Linda Stouffer.

Head said she ran away from local foster homes when she was 16 and trusted a man who soon used threats to force her to sell sex.

“These men who purchased me were normal, ordinary men, and I had no idea that they could turn into such violent monsters right before my eyes, and that was scary,” Head said.

Now Head works to help toughen laws though a local advocacy group called A Future, Not a Past.

Stouffer spoke with the group’s program director about their new focus for 2012: exposing the men who buy sex with underage girls.

Jennifer Swain wants to build community pressure against the buyers.

“What you’ve been able to do that has gone unnoticed will be noticed now,” Swain said.

A Future, Not a Past is rolling out a new message with billboards and a media campaign called “Take a Stand Against Demand.

 
The group credits the summer passage of Georgia HB 200 with increasing the penalties for sex trafficking involving teenagers.

Swain said the new tougher law is also helping change the focus from the teenagers, to the men who buy sexual services.

“We ask our community members to become outraged about this,” Swain said.

Head told Stouffer she helps counsel local girls on the edge.

“We have children as young as 13 being raped continually every night. This is wrong and we need to take a stand against it,” Head said.

"Broken People, Broken Dreams" forum on human trafficking at Riverdale High School (Jeylin White, Clayton News Daily)

“When you hear the word ‘prostitute,’ what is the first word that comes to your mind?” Jennifer Swain asked a room full of teenagers at Riverdale High School.

The question by the deputy program manager for the Juvenile Justice Fund led one boisterous teen to yell, “Ho!”

Other pupils were more reserved, and responded: “Someone who sells their body for sex.” Their replies led to an in-depth discussion about a subject that is getting a lot of attention right now, because of a rise in sexual exploitation of young girls and boys –– human trafficking in Georgia.

Swain, of the Juvenile Justice Fund, was at the school for a two-day forum called “Broken People, Broken Dreams,” which aims to inform the community about the issue of human trafficking in society, and in the local community.

“I think that the [students] were honest,” said Swain. “I think, maybe, some of the teachers were shocked and mortified, by the students’ responses.”

The members of DECA, an association of marketing students, at Riverdale High School are hosting the forum which ends today ( Thursday).

Students who spearheaded the project include: Jocelyn Stargell-Zachery, 18, Emmanuella Ibekwe, 17, and Johel Avila, 17. Beverly Holyfield, a DECA teacher, is the group’s advisor. The project was sponsored by Lighthouse Partners, Inc., Riverdale City Councilmember Kenny Ruffin, and several other businesses and officials.

To read the full article, click here.

Smiles everywhere for this adoptive family at the Fulton County Courthouse ©c. releford

Part two of our coverage of the National Adoption Day event finds reflections from judges, more images, and stories of hope, patience and love.

Father and daughter

Wandering through the event, I was struck by the energy of joy and anticipation in the kids and their parents.

You could almost feel them exhale because the day had finally arrived, but also notice their jitters in wanting to finally hold their certificate of adoption.

As Judge Phillip Jackson pointed out, the process of adoption can take anywhere from ” a couple of months to well over a year.”

The Juvenile Justice Fund works year round through the Family Visitation Program to make sure that children find a safe and loving home environment, whether that be with a child’s birth family or with an adoptive family.

Rep. John Lewis & Judge Jackson

It’s all about finding the place that’s right for the child.

Adoption is a big step for our court families and for their children, which is why the practice of making the final legal action of adoption a real celebration and milestone began 10 years ago with then Chief Judge Sanford “Sammy” Jones.

I found a mother and her son seated under a portrait of the late “Sammy” Jones.

Magic in his adoption day

She was wearing a big smile on her face, studying his portrait, and then she told me the story of her adoption which had taken several years.

She persevered, and today was finally the legal mother of “Magic,”  a four year old boy in a wheelchair.

She said she’d been working on it since he was three months old, and because Magic had special needs, many had discouraged her from trying to adopt him.

A new family © c releford

Judge Jones, she explained, was different, and encouraged her.  He cleared the way for her adoption to go ahead, making special arrangements for her and for Magic. Today her joy was palpable.

Thanks to over 100 volunteers ranging from court personnel, Juvenile Justice Fund members, Boy Scouts and Lions Club, National Adoption Day at the Fulton County Juvenile Court becomes a real standout day for families.

Boy Scouts carry gift basket

The festivities included a full hot meal, a personal message from U.S. Rep. John Lewis, himself an adoptive father, a cake party, customized gift baskets, special activities for the kids, and of course, the official adoption ceremony for each individual family in judges’ chambers.

Judge Phillip Jackson spoke with me about Adoption Day at the Courthouse.

..

Martha Turner is the Communications Manager for the
Juvenile Justice Fund
———————————————————————————-

Holiday Party

The Voices Project would like to send a special thank you to Busy Bee Cafe and owner Tracy Gates for being an ongoing supporter of our CEASE program.

In the past, they donated dinner to our girls at Angela’s House for their annual Holiday party and this year they catered a four course dinner and donated coats and gift baskets to our Voices girls for their party.

Thank you for your ongoing support!

Jennifer Swain and Keisha Head

Today Jennifer Swain and Keisha Head appeared in an interview for Fox 5 News, gaining national coverage as they discussed child sex trafficking.

They are part of A Future.Not A Past, a campaign of the Juvenile Justice Fund, spearheading efforts to end child sex trade and strike a blow against the demand for prostituted children.

Click Here To Watch The Interview

Sold For Sex, in Our Backyards

By Elizabeth Prann
Published January 07, 2012
FoxNews.com

Today, Keisha Head is a wife and mother of three. But more than decade ago, she was the victim of a notorious human trafficker.

At 16-years old, Head says she was being sold on the streets of Atlanta for sex.

“I did not know that a normal, average man who was a preacher, who was a lawyer, who was a senator – could turn into this monster,” Head said. “That is the scariest moment when you are amongst people who claim to be normal yet they purchase you and they turn into these monsters. They rape you. They beat you. And then act as if they’re normal. These are not your normal pedophiles.”

Experts say, across the globe, millions of people are trafficked each year. Hundreds of thousands of the victims are women and girls. But what surprises many — is the rate it is happening in affluent neighborhoods where minors are being turned into sex slaves.

“The buyers aren’t just pedophiles. The buyers are normal community men, normal leaders, people that belong to someone,” said Jennifer Swain, state coordinator for A Future. Not A Past.

A Future. Not A Past., is a campaign organized by the Juvenile Justice Fund in Georgia. Swain and her peers, such as Keisha Head, work to educate and prevent exploited children.

The organization lobbied Georgia legislators to pass HB 200 last year. A victory for victim advocates, the bill imposes stricter punishments on offenders and improves the treatment of trafficking victims.

“We have to stop the men. This is a very lucrative business,” Swain said.

According to the Georgia Governor’s Office, more than 400 girls are sexually exploited every month in the state. On average, the girls begin having sex for money between the age of 12 and 14.

“Atlanta is one of 14 cities in the United States that are the highest in terms of child prostitution and sexual exploitation,” said Brian D Lamkin, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office. “It’s a major transportation hub — not just domestically but internationally.”

Read the full article here

A Future. Not A Past is a campaign of the Juvenile Justice Fund to end the prostitution of children in Georgia by disabling demand. Follow us on Facebook & Twitter

Stop the Prostitution of Children in Georgia

A Weekly Advocacy Update from the 2012 session of the Georgia General Assembly.

Off to a Running Start

The Georgia General Assembly 2012 session starts Monday, Jan. 9th as legislators return to the state Capitol. The Budget is expected to dominate the discussion over the coming months.

Priorities for the New Year Yet again this year we will raise our voices on behalf of commercially sexually exploited children at the Capitol. Given the grim budget outlook our top strategic priority this year will be to protect funding for victim services.

Join us at the Georgia State Capitol

It’s time to register for the 2012 CSEC Lobby Day at the Georgia Capitol! Get ready to make a real difference in the lives of exploited children in our state. Thank your legislator with written notes, make your voice heard, and join together in an awareness-raising show of support for children victimized by CSEC. Lobby Day is an easy, fun, and empowering event. If you’ve never been to the Capitol, this is a perfect way to get started with grassroots advocacy.

When: February 1st, 2012, 8:00 am – 1:00 pm

Where: We will assemble at Central Presbyterian Church (201 Washington Street Southwest, Atlanta, GA 30303) for check-in and advocacy instructions, then walk across the street to the Capitol in groups. Thank you for being part of this historic event! Everyone who participates in Lobby Day will receive a name badge listing their State Senator and Representative. Due to time constraints, we will be unable to provide printed name badges for those who register after 3:00 p.m. on January 30, 2012. All registrations received after this time will need to check-in at the walkup table the morning of Lobby Day.

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

The CyberTipline was created by Congress in 1998 and serves as a national 911 for reporting suspected child pornography and other sexual exploitation crimes against children. Google recently helped to redesign the reporting form to make it easier to use.

If you suspect that a child is being sexually exploited, do not hesitate to use the online form or call the 24-hour call center at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).

For more information, check out this article from PR Newswire.

We would like to ask you to join us in our Annual Giving Campaign. This year’s campaign focused on our work to end child sex trafficking. Below is an excerpt from our Annual Letter:

“Sometimes I wonder why this happened to me, living in the streets.  Why couldn’t I have a real family?  Forced to prostitute, to just get by, I look up to the sky and ask, ‘God, why?’  But there’s no answer from the one above, so I go from man to man, looking 4 love.  But it’s nothing to find, so I feel I’m not worthy of love in my mind.  So I don’t care if love makes the world go around, and I’m without it, don’t I look like a clown?  So I walk around town, with nothing but a frown.  I smoke some, I drink some, then go to strip, so I don’t feel, the men that will be near me, or the pimp that is going to beat me, why couldn’t I just have a real family?” (from a child survivor)

Our Annual Giving Campaign is your opportunity to make a substantial difference in the lives of children and families across the region.  We know that every person has value.  Every person has something to contribute.  Every person has dignity. We know that every person deserves a chance and we are dedicated to playing an important role in helping children and families overcome challenging circumstances in order to become productive and vibrant members of the community.

Besides our work to unify families, we are also dedicated to ending child sex trafficking and making sure that no child ever becomes a victim of this horrific business.  We are making strides each day, week after week, in realizing this vision. However, there is still a lot to do and challenges that need to be addressed. Our work continues and we’re fighting each day for Georgia’s children, and you can join us in this fight.

Now is a great time to donate before the new year is upon us. You can donate online or by sending a check or cash to the
Juvenile Justice Fund
395 Pryor Street, Suite 2117
Atlanta, GA 30312

Thank you for supporting the Juvenile Justice Fund.