Sex+Money: A National Search for Human Worth is a documentary about domestic minor sex trafficking and the movement to fight it. The team is currently traveling the country screening the film and hosting awareness raising events.
Join them tonight in Tull Hall at Emory University’s School of Law from 6:00pm-8:30pm. Our own Kaffie McCullough will be speaking on a panel about ways the community can get involved.
The Juvenile Justice Fund’s 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.
Join us in serving the children and families in Georgia’s juvenile justice system. Please consider making a donation to support this important work. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, your donation is tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
We know that times are difficult and we want you to know that your gift is greatly appreciated and welcomed by everyone at the Juvenile Justice Fund, and most importantly, by the children and families we serve.
Together, we will continue to have a positive impact on children and their families in our community.
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 your support of the Juvenile Justice Fund.
A student from the Center for Youth Leadership prepares to hand out Human Trafficking Halloween Candy Bags
The Center for Youth Leadership, based at Brien McMahon High in Norwalk, Connecticut, has created a model of youth activism called socially engaged philanthropy. One of the issues they focus on is stopping human trafficking.
As part of this initiative, they pass out Human Trafficking Halloween Candy bags to students in between classes. Inside each bag is a note that says “she gets tricked out and he gets all the treats”, along with information about Backpage.com and the national trafficking hotline number.
We are so glad to see high school students taking a creative approach to raise awareness among their peers.
#16 Sign Groundswell’s petition on Change.org urging Village Voice Media to stop child sex trafficking on Backpage.com.
Join Groundswell in asking Village Voice Media to take a stand against this injustice:
Sex trafficking of girls and boys on Backpage.com, owned by Village Voice Media, is becoming a disturbing trend.
Village Voice Media has a moral responsibility to ensure that young girls aren’t being abused in the commercial sex industry with help from their website, and that they aren’t facilitating human trafficking.
Now, a rising movement of people of many faiths and backgrounds, motivated by their shared moral convictions, are taking action to end this practice.
Please join us in demanding that Village Voice Media – Backpage.com’s parent company – stop the sex trafficking of minors on Backpage.com by shutting down the Adult section of the website.
Click here to sign the petition.
Clergy Demand Village Voice Media Help Stop Boys and Girls from Being Sold for Sex
PR Newswire-US Newswire
NEW YORK, Oct 25, 2011
Thirty-six prominent clergy have appealed to Village Voice Media to end the sex trafficking of girls and boys made possible by its Web site, Backpage.com, in a full-page New York Times advertisement today. The advertisement featured a letter from the clergy in which they called on Village Voice company executives to immediately shut down the Adult section of its Web site where this activity is taking place. The clergy also launched a nationwide petition in partnership with Change.org’s more than one million members.
The newly formed multifaith coalition is made up of mainline Christians, Catholics, Jews, evangelical Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, Humanists and other moral and religious leaders. Groundswell, Auburn Seminary’s social action initiative, convened the group.
“Village Voice Media CEO Jim Larkin and his Board of Directors need to stop Backpage.com from serving as a platform for the sex trafficking of girls and boys immediately. For over a year, advocates have demanded action, but the responses they have been given are half-measures and delays. We are tired of Village Voice’s delay tactics,” said The Rev. Dr. Katharine Henderson, President of Auburn Seminary. “The only way to end the sale of minors for sex on Backpage.com is by shutting down the Adult section for good.”
To read the rest of the article, click here.
thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com
Graffiti for a good cause
The CNN Freedom Project
June 10th, 2011
A section of Walton Avenue, between 149th and 150th in New York City’s Bronx borough, has some new graffiti gracing one of its walls. This, however, is not the work of neighborhood miscreants, but a call to action to end human trafficking.
The mural, created by a group of students, is dedicated to Somaly Mam – an anti-trafficking activist – and is part of a project to raise awareness by the Somaly Mam Foundation.
Organizers of the project say that the mural allowed the kids to work together to raise awareness in their communities.
The students say the mural is their way of raising their voices against human trafficking and that they hope that when people see the mural they will add their own voices to fight against human trafficking.
#15 Donate to the Voices Project.
Voices Project
The Voices Project is our pilot initiative working with girls, ages 11-17, to provide opportunities to strengthen and reinforce the initiative’s chief principle, “Yesterday I found my voice – Today I’m here to shout about it!”
The Voices Project provides healthy and holistic solutions to deter potential child sex trafficking contact, involvement and vulnerabilities. We strive to empower hidden talents, inspire self-esteem, promote healthy relationships and encourage the ownership of appropriate decision-making.
Donate to the Voices Project and become a key partner in this important work to end child sex trafficking by focusing on prevention.
You can donate through PayPal or by sending a check or cash to
Juvenile Justice Fund, 395 Pryor Street, Suite 2117, Atlanta, GA 30312.
Special thanks to all the community members who joined us on Saturday, October 1st and took their steps to stop the demand for the prostitution of children in Georgia!
JJF Fellow and Spelman College student Mercedez Dunn and her team!
Fulton County Juvenile Court Judge Philip Jackson
AFNAP Campaign Director Kaffie McCullough, JJF Board Member Tera Doak, and JJF Staff Member Kei Breedlove
Sharon Simpson Joseph reciting 'Silhouettes'
Sharon Simpson Joseph, Executive Director of the Juvenile Justice Fund, shared her poem, Silhouettes, at Project Ready, Set, Go!’s recent Alumnae Day Celebration. I spoke with her about why she chose this particular poem:
“I chose this poem because I have learned so much more from Project Ready, Set, Go! (RSG) about the process of recovery–the challenges of the journey and the strength and endurance it takes to turn one’s life around.
This poem always makes me focus on the beautiful messages in our lives, even those around challenges and struggles. It speaks about the value of a life well lived–the challenges, the tears, the joy and the pain all rolled up together.
RSG does such a good job of acknowledging all of this. Reading this poem makes me think of the RSG women and what they’ve accomplished, weathering these storms. I hope the poem speaks to them in the same way.”
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Silhouettes
of people
Living, breathing life
More than going through the motions
Less than owning it outright
In a day of many smiles
In a year of work and tears
Blindly always going forward
Through our bravery and fears
Living life which we are gifted
Be it short or be it long
Putting our dreams into motion
Or leaving them within a song
Whether death is hard or painful
Whether life is joy or tears
The motion lies with the journey
Not within the span of years
Silhouettes
of breathing people
Seen in light from up above
Traveling on their life long journey
Sent to spread the trust of love
Though we may not always answer
Still we have to try our best
Take this life which God has given
Make of it your own bequest
When you have no more tomorrow
Make sure that today is all
Know that life has been your living
You have answered your heart’s call.
© Sharon Simpson Joseph 2000
Allison Hood is the Operations Coordinator
for the Juvenile Justice Fund.
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Ready, Set, Go! Alumni
On Wednesday, September 28th, we gathered with the Project Ready, Set, Go! (RSG) alumnae at the 3rd Annual Alumnae Day to celebrate their journeys as they have fallen in love with recovery.
The event was filled with messages of hope. Brenton Cox encouraged us in song, Sharon Simpson Joseph shared her beautiful poem with us and the RSG alumnae spoke about their incredible journeys. And of course, no event is complete without raffle prizes and great food!
Kelly Cox and her son Brenton
Kelly Cox, RSG Peer Counselor, did a fabulous job as the mistress of ceremony. Kelly shared why this event means so much to her:
“This alumni day was extra special for me because not only am I an alumni but I’m also on the other side as a staff member. I’m just so proud to be a part of all of this.
Project Ready, Set, Go! and Fulton County Family Drug Court is an essential factor in saving the lives of the clients and also restoring a future for them. I would also like to acknowledge my loving son, Brenton Cox, for always being a supportive force in my life and also for blessing the crowd with his inspirational singing.”
Raffle winners show off their prizes
Yvette Bell, RSG Aftercare Clinician, worked incredibly hard during September to make our celebration of National Recovery Month special for everyone. She told me why Recovery Month is so important:
“Recovery Month draws attention to the fact that people with addictions and mental illness can and do recover. It’s wonderful to see our ladies both past and present enjoying the benefits of a life free from the bonds that used to hold them down. Tears are always a part of this celebration but they are tears of joy where once they were tears of sorrow.”
JJF Board Members with RSG Alumnae
Cheron Crouch, RSG Program Manager, on what she loves about the Annual Alumnae Day Celebration:
“Alumnae Day is a day of celebration for recovering addicts. It’s a day to remember what they have accomplished through recovery and it also helps them give back to the community by sharing their stories to people new to recovery.
“I am also so inspired by their journey and I am glad to have had a part in our families’ recovery.”
So much to celebrate for RSG Alumni
What an encouragement to hear such beautiful stories of hope, redemption and second chances.
Thanks to Yvette Bell for all of her hard work to organize this special event.
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Allison Hood is the Operations Coordinator
for the Juvenile Justice Fund.
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