Nov
20
2012
Much to Be Thankful For
Melissa Books & Resources, Empower Women, Partner Organization News, Trafficking News & Information 0
There’s lots to be thankful for this time of year. From food to family to finances, most of us have quite a few things going for us. But just like looking past myself in hard times helps me broaden my perspective, being thankful for things beyond my own life enriches this thankful time of year. So here are a few organizations and people doing good around the world that I am very thankful for. They are changing lives in ways that I never could even imagine. They’re empowering women and fighting human trafficking in very real, very powerful ways. IJMRead more
Apr
03
2012
Theresa Flores: The Same Old Human Trafficking Story
Melissa Books & Resources, Empower Women 0
Last week I posted about The Slave Across the Street by Theresa Flores, highlighting her story and some of the surprising things about it. But her story truly isn’t that unique. Trafficking of American teen girls in their home cities is not as rare as we’d like to think. This story from Reject/Apathy tells a story much like Theresa’s. Here’s how it begins: It started with a trip to New York. Fifteen-year-old Marlene Carson’s neighbors promised her and three girlfriends tickets to a Broadway show during Memorial Day weekend in 1978. The young girls’ parents had even agreed to theRead more
Mar
27
2012
The Slave Across the Street by Theresa Flores
Melissa Books & Resources, Empower Women 1
I just finished reading The Slave Across the Street. It’s Theresa Flores’s memoir of her time as a sex slave. There’s a lot about her story that’s surprising and sounds unique: She was a blond, white high schooler in suburban Detroit. She was a good student with a caring family. She lived at home and went to school the whole time she was trafficked. She was Catholic, and she and her long-distance boyfriend were committed to abstinence. She wasn’t a runaway or abused as a child or a drug user. When she was fifteen her family moved to the DetroitRead more