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GNAA Luncheon
Derri Smith spoke to a packed room of about 100 apartment management professionals from the Greater Nashville Apartment Association (GN AA), many of whom were unaware that human trafficking happens right here in Tennessee.She shared tips on what to look for in tenant behavior and physical evidence of slavery in rental apartments.
One maintenance man in attendance opened the door for Not For Sale to speak to a large group of maintenance professionals in May - people highly likely to see suspicious activity, since they work inside many apartments.
April Goodwin manned the handout and products table and answe red questions. Handmade scarves created by rescued slaves were a big hit!
Special thanks to Pat O'Reilly for this invitation. |
Latest Case: Nashville
The latest known incident of
slavery in Middle TN was a disturbing forced prostitution case.
A 22-year-old
mot her who says she was promised a trip to Miami by a 34-year-old South Nashville man,
instead found herself in a Harding Place hotel, allegedly forced to prostitute herself.
She says she submitted because the man knew where she and her children lived.
To keep up
on the latest news on human trafficking in TN, see the "News" page at www.notforsaletn.org
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First in Franklin
Feb. 4th marked the inaugural
meeting of the first Franklin anti-s lavery group.Derri presented basic information about the issue to about a dozen members.
The group, led by Bria
Blessing, will meet the first Thursday of every month.
New groups are now
meeting also in Knoxville and Memphis. For information about joining these
groups, please see information in the sidebar (left.)
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In Her Own Words
Members of the Nashville Volunteer
group had the rare privilege of hearing, in her own words, the horrific story
of a rescued victim of human trafficking and to be inspired by her courage.
To read her amazing true story, visit our blog at www.notforsaletn.wordpress.com
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New Focuses
Prevention:
NFSTN's
next major focus is prevention. We're developing educational materials
to use with vulnerable populations and those who work with them. Our
intern April Goodwin is
researching to identify area immigrant and inner-city service
providers, and the people groups found and languages spoken in our
state.
She'll
be interviewing people in these agencies, learning the cultural
considerations, identifying community leaders and more. Eventually, we
hope to partner with these agencies to teach vulnerable populations,
and those who serve them, about the dangers and tactics of trafficking,
because we'd rather prevent someone from being sold, than rescue them
after the fact.
Research:
Megan Mitchell is developing an online map with TN locations for commercial sex enterprises: strip clubs, escort services, adult book stores, etc.
This map will not only lay a foundation for our work in uncovering local human trafficking activity, it will help us target key neighborhoods. By
developing relationships with business owners and neighbors, we can
effectively gather information from eyewitnesses to uncover slavery of
all types.
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Ten Minute Activism
Wellspring Living , a shelter providing restorative help for victims of childhood trauma including forced prostitution, has immediate needs for the following:
-1 inch binders
-Art canvases, paint
-card making or scrap booking supplies (for life skills class and art therapy)
-portable CD players (the girls use them during school)
1-time needs:
-pots and pans (the Teflon is chipping)
-Regular sized plastic cereal bowls
-Sewing machine, fabric, and yarn
You can reach Wellspring here:
http://www.wellspringliving.org
Wellspring Administrative Offices
140 Howell Road
Suite C-2
Tyrone, GA 30290
770.631.888 |
Activist Highlight-Pax Wiemers
From Derri--
I met Pax the day it all began - the day in early 2009 at the Village Chapel when I first spoke publicly about human trafficking. Pax told me about his first-hand knowledge of human trafficking through trips to India, so I asked him to briefly address the group, which he did.
We met to talk soon thereafter, and his experience as a teacher and group leader made him a natural to lead a monthly volunteer group.
Pax has ably served as Educator and Volunteer Facilitator for about a year now, helping to inform and engage our core volunteers in Nashville. His group is cohesive, active and indispensable, in part due to his faithful service, skill and heart for this issue.
When I think about those beginnings, I am so thankful for those like Pax who had something to offer, knew they were to get involved, and then did.
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