Content Under Pressure

I realize that National Slavery and Human Trafficking month ended in January, but I wanted to share an update that I’m pretty stoked about.  Yes, I said “stoked.”  I live near the West Coast now, so it’s totally appropriate.

Last month I wrote about Streetlight, an organization here in Phoenix who is doing some amazing things to combat the problem of human trafficking.  You can read the post here.

I will be the musical guest tonight at [mission], which is a service/venue who’s focused on both creative arts and global missions.  Tonight’s theme is “Glow,” and will center around Streetlight, and allow for brainstorming about what we can do locally to fight human trafficking.  I’ll be playing a few original songs as we start.

Please pray that conversations stir up actions.  And, on a selfish note, please pray that I don’t succumb to nervousness and faint.

January has been declared “National Slavery and Human Trafficking Awareness Month.”  There was a call to highlight local organziations/ministries that are fighting this problem.
Today I will highlight Streetlight Phoenix, an organization here in Phoenix.

Streetlight is an organization here in Phoenix who is rescuing child prostitutes and rehabilitating them physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.  They are set to open up a campus around a safehouse in the city in 2010, which will immediately double the number of safehouse beds in all of the U.S.  If you read this blog and are in Arizona, would you consider checking Streetlight out, and perhaps donating to it?  They also have some volunteer opportunities as well if you want to look into that.

The president of Streetlight is a pastor here in the Valley.  The goal is to partner with churches around the city to join in with the fight.  I like the idea of different churches putting aside their differences, denominations, worship style, etc. to help the least of these.  Can you imagine what that would look like?

Let me know what’s going in with regards to this issue in your town or city.  I’d love to know about it.  Perhaps you would consider writing a blog post this month to highlight an organization even.  That’d be great, too!

Feel free to link to your post (only one link or spam filter will catch it) and share it.

Perhaps if we saw signs like these we’d have less of chance to ignore a rampant problem…

Today has been declared National Human Trafficking Awareness Day.  Were you aware?

President Obama proclaimed last week that January 2010 to be National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, calling for greater public awareness of the problem.

An estimated 27 million people worldwide are trapped as victims of human trafficking.  The black market slave trade is lucrative, worth an estimated $9 billion a year, according to the FBI.  One million children are new victims of forced prostitution, and 200,000 American women and children are at high risk for being forced into the sex industry. Human trafficking has become the fastest growing criminal activity in the world.

We must do something… (more…)

There are more than 27 million slaves in the world today.

Let that sink in for a second……got it?  Ok.

There are 27 million (million!) slaves in the world today.  I have a problem with this.  A big problem.  Children as young as 4 years old are being sold into slavery every day.  Some of them are being sold in your back yard….and mine, being required to service as many as 40 men per day.  Your heart breaking yet?

More after the jump…. (more…)