Until The Manasseh Project created a buzz about human sex trafficking with their 2012 ArtPrize exhibit, many believed human trafficking only happened in someone else's neighborhood. The reality is that it can happen anywhere, even on your street.
The Manasseh Project, an outreach ministry of Wedgwood Christian Services, is dedicated to ending the sexual exploitation of young men and women in West Michigan. They acknowledge that ending human slavery involves more than creating awareness; it requires eliminating the root causes that lead to it -- runaway youth, poverty, and abuse.
While statistics published around the world about human trafficking help generate awareness, in Founder Andy Soper's opinion that also puts numbers to something that is difficult to quantify.
"To end human slavery, we have to change the culture of how we buy and consume," he says.
On Feb. 28, Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) designed to help the more than 20 million men, women, and children victimized by human trafficking in the U.S. and worldwide. Here in West Michigan, there are nearly 2400 human trafficking victims.
Two and a half years ago, Soper and his wife Marcy found themselves ill-equipped to address the needs of a child they knew after she fell victim to sex trafficking in Grand Rapids. Last October, he started the first shelter, which is already making a difference for victims.
Although middle class suburban white girls are often the face of trafficking in the movies and in the media, they represent only 25-30 percent of all victims with the majority being poor minorities.
While monetary donations help to provide safety and services for these victims, it doesn't stop the problem from happening. Soper believes one way to make a difference is to watch your own neighborhood.
"Ask yourself if a kid three blocks over is at risk," he says. "Reduce the risk of this happening in your neighborhood by engaging with kids."
Every summer, Soper buys a large tub of popsicles and word about the free treats quickly spreads around the block. This gives him and his wife a good opportunity to engage with the neighborhood kids. Soper often questions parents, too, when he notices their children are roaming around unsupervised, or are spending large amounts of time in his backyard. He also frequently offers to bring kids along on family trips to the library and gives working parents the option to drop off their children at his home during the day in hopes of getting them off the street.
"What starts as a heroic approach to leadership, where we think we are going to do this alone, is really not possible," says Soper. "The Manasseh Project has worked hard to build partnerships with other groups that address homelessness and runaway youth. Prevention is 95 percent of this work, if not more."
Through community education and collaboration, The Manasseh Project not only provides support for victims of human trafficking, it empowers the people of West Michigan to end modern day slavery.
"Being a hero does not mean kicking in a door and saving a girl," Soper says. "It means being vulnerable, and if you open yourself up, that is where change happens. We can open as many houses as we want, but we cannot change slavery unless we change our hearts."
If you want to do your part to end human trafficking, here is how you can get involved:
-
Report a suspected instance of human trafficking.
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Donate to The Manasseh Project.
- Like The Manasseh Project on
Facebook.
Source: Andy Soper, Founder of The Manasseh Project
Writer: Terri Spaulding, Do Good Contributor
Images Courtesy of The Manasseh Project.
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