Meet Justice

“The gap between the rich and the poor is increasing!” decry various articles, activists, organizations, and a few brave politicians.

Yes indeed, this is an issue. Not just one for the impassioned do-gooders either.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution stated that there was a $600,000 million surplus in the budget for this term. Two popular options as to what to do with this money is to knock a few cents of gas prices for a time or pour it into the public education system. While it would be earth-shaking to give our SUV’s more bang for their buck, there are other alternatives.  read more »

Free speech in a time where millions of people go voiceless; black ink statistics on a cold, white sheet of paper.

Free speech in an era where communication and technology have never been more accessible, yet nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.

Free speech where countless minutes are spoken away on cell phones, but is anyone listening?

Free speech and women are still persecuted for being a woman.

Free speech and children are being raped every day.

Free speech and people are still being sold as economic commodities.

Free speech and the United States is one of the world's leading dealers in weaponry.

Free speech and Atlanta was number one in the United States for people living in poverty.

Free speech and we still don't know how to love one another.

Free speech yet injustice abounds.

Free speech yet my question remains:

What are we talking about?  read more »

A young girl runs away from home because of verbal or physical abuse from her father. She hops on a Greyhound Bus and winds up at a station in downtown Atlanta, lost and alone.

"Pimps are masters of manipulation," states Alesia Adams, the Salvation Army's coordinator of forces against sex trafficking, "they have perfected it to a science."

With his diabolically innate street smarts, he spots the young runaway as soon as she gets off the bus. She is taken captive by his words, for he tells her what she's wanted to hear for so long, "You're so beautiful. I love you. I accept you. I'll take care of you."

Case studies show that the girls are literally brainwashed into believing the pimp truly loves them. This is accomplished by the use of various drugs (which weakens the brain and causes dependence), receiving gifts and verbal praise, and then a sharp turn involving physical, sexual, and verbal abuse.  read more »

What is sex trafficking?

I have found that many people are unaware of what sex trafficking really is. Here is a basic introduction to the enemy.

The formal explanation, as defined by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act in 2000, is:
1) Sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion or in which the person induced to perform such an act is under 18, or
2) The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion, for the purpose of subjecting that person to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.

According to the Atlanta Mayor's Report of 2005, it is estimated that 200,000 to 300,000 children in the United States and an estimated 10 million children worldwide are involved in prostitution.  read more »

I sat on the bed and listened to the faltering words of this young girl as she tried to speak. She was crying. I felt the hot sting of tears begin to pierce my eyes but I struggled to hold them back. Maybe I shouldn't have. Maybe I should have allowed myself to cry, if only so this little girl didn't feel so alone.

She showed us the baby pictures. Her pregnant belly was huge, much too big for her 15-year old frame. Her baby girl was beautiful, weighing in at 7 lbs 11 ounces. She told us about the parents she chose to adopt her girl. They were an older, loving couple living somewhere in the South East.
"Walking out of the hospital without my baby was one of the hardest days of my life," she said, her eyes searching the floor for something to relieve her racing mind. "I've only seen my baby once since she was born, and she cried the whole time because she didn't recognize me."  read more »

One issue I haven't yet come to grips with is how I should relate to the homeless people. Being in a big city, homeless people are everywhere. Walking through downtown Atlanta, you see them camped out, sleeping under bridges or in the middle of the parks while chatting mothers walk by with their babies and angry business men stream profanities through their cell phones. At night, we walked by what I thought were piles of trash, but soon found that they were people buried in rags and papers.

Someone once told me, "Whatever you do, don't give them money." But what do I do, then?

These forlorn faces have names and stories. How did they get to this sad state of life that they're at? What right do I have to pass them by and rob them of their dignity by refusing even to acknowledge their existence?  read more »

We pulled into the small business complex and quickly found the building that housed Victoria's Friends. Victoria was outside on her phone and flashed us a huge smile as she ushered us inside, not even missing a beat with her phone conversation. The floor in the reception area was covered with wrapping paper, bows, and gifts for the upcoming bridal shower that was to take place that night.

I (Kate) had heard Victoria's story and read a few articles published online. However, meeting this woman who had been through so much yet has managed to transform her past into a future for so many other women was truly amazing. Victoria was a dancer and a stripper. She was everything you were warned about in Sunday school as a child. She was the woman fetching water for Jesus at the well.  read more »

One issue I haven't yet come to grips with is how I should relate to the homeless people. Being in a big city, homeless people are everywhere. Walking through downtown Atlanta, you see them camped out, sleeping under bridges or in the middle of the parks while chatting mothers walk by with their babies and angry business men stream profanities through their cell phones. At night, we walked by what I thought were piles of trash, but soon found that they were people buried in rags and papers.

Someone once told me, "Whatever you do, don't give them money." But what do I do, then?

These forlorn faces have names and stories. How did they get to this sad state of life that they're at? What right do I have to pass them by and rob them of their dignity by refusing even to acknowledge their existence?  read more »