Trigger Warning: This post contains sensitive material that may not be appropriate for children and survivors of abuse.
Nine kids are removed from their homes in Western-Central Florida every day and A Door of Hope recruits, trains, and supports foster families. Kids emerge from their circumstances with nothing but a small garbage bag to their name. “At A Door of Hope, our vision is to provide hope for children in crisis." These foster families' generosity extends to keeping siblings together. They use Christianity as a vessel to help children make sense of their tumultuous world and though God reunite them with their families as much as possible.
In our ongoing partnership, we put our funding to work for a family who had accepted multiple sets of siblings. Unfortunately, one of their original fosters in her vulnerable teen years was emerging from treatment and wanted to be reunited with her Haitian family that teaches about their heritage and speaks their language to fellow Haitian fosters. However, their prohibitively sized minivan prevented them from taking her back. Thanks to our board member, Jon Kepko, he searched and found an ideal van locally and we made those funds accessible for payment immediately. Within two days they had a vehicle and were reunited.
One of the biggest challenges for foster families is having to let go of kids who they’ve loved and cared for because the goal is to reunite them with their biological parents. But these resilient families, with help from A Door of Hope and through their Christian faith, are the first line of deference for vulnerable kids. Providing a healthy, happy and safe home saves the otherwise faceless, nameless and forgotten who might fall through the cracks, with young runaways being the most vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation.
The Child Rescue Coalition is the next line of defense against human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of minors. They are "a nonprofit organization that rescues children from sexual abuse by building technology for law enforcement (developed by the Director’s own father along with other law enforcement), free of charge, to identify, arrest and prosecute child predators."
Their operation works like a digital catfish. They seek out underage exploitative pornography files through file trading sites (if you can imagine a Limewire but for pornography) where they encounter underage pornography purveyors and identify these criminals to collect prosecutorial information for authorities to arrest perpetrators. Companies such as Uber have participated in tracking anyone using their work computers for these kinds of illegal activities. They index 30-50 million reports of online users trading child sexual abuse material everyday.
They've worked alongside 10,000 law enforcement officers trained to use their technology in all 50 states and in 102 countries. Their technology has led to more than 15,000 arrests and has rescued over 3,400 children from sexual exploitation and abuse.
Despite these advances, human trafficking and the exploitation of women and children continues to grow around the world. More than ever, the greatest threat in the United States comes from unlimited access to the internet, app-based social media sites and even online dating sites where vulnerable young people come into contact with predators who lure them in with false promises and solutions to their problems. Parents need to overcome the conflicts that arise over the youth's need for privacy and OUR shares tools for parents on their website.
Other countries in South and Central America and Southeast Asia have become travel destinations for sex tourism, which has become even more accessible. Operation Underground Railroad Rescue (OUR) works with law enforcement in these countries to break victims out of captivity. But liberating them is a two-step process: the rescue first and then providing survivor resources – usually local charities who exist for that reason. As Jerry Gowen from OUR explained, they won’t liberate victims without having a safe place for them to live, receive an education and get counseling. Much like its namesake, Operation Underground Railroad who provided sanctuaries from slavery, support for OUR allows these survivor resources to have more availability so that more enslaved victims can be liberated.
It’s difficult to find funding for dark causes like this because it isn’t something that puts a smile on your face. Difficult but not impossible! The Laube Family Foundation have partnered with OUR in the training, placement and first year of this K9 in action that will allow them to use their senses to locate hidden technology like recording and storage devices that contain illicit material and evidence of abuse. These can then be turned over to law enforcement as evidence. The pups are also trained to provide comfort and companionship to any survivors. The dog we have named 'Chase', after Paw Patrol's own police dog, will be placed in Florida.
A map to understanding the impact of K9s across the United States.
If you are a parent, teacher, responsible business owner, realtor or concerned citizen, Florida Alliance to End Human Tracking can help you detect human trafficking using their free, online course available through their website. This Florida based organization provides information that applies to anyone concerned.
Should you feel compelled to help in the fight against child exploitation and human trafficking you can contribute directly to:
If you are interested in learning about becoming a foster family or giving to this Christian charity you can find out more on their website.
