I’ve worked at Restoring the Soul: Faith and Community Partnerships since August 2009, and I mention our next monthly forum whenever I describe the organization. Our forums run the gamut from light topics (“Faith and Facebook”) to heavy (“Homelessness: Compassion and Tension in the Community”). Usually people respond positively to the topics, and sometimes talk about their own involvement; one response to our forum on early childhood education was: “That’s great, I used to be an early childhood educator!” But the majority of the responses to this upcoming forum are a first for me: surprise and shock. The title: Not in Boulder! Human Trafficking as a Local Issue.
We decided on this topic at a board meeting a while back, when one our members discussed how human trafficking in Boulder is a local, current, and serious issue. My first response was also feeling shocked and deeply saddened. And I’m embarrassed both that I was so unaware and that such a thing could happen here, in my community.
So far, the best I’d been able to do in responding to questions of “Here? Really?” has been something along the lines of “Yes, unfortunately.” But “unfortunately” doesn’t even begin to cut it. “Unfortunately” doesn’t even begin to speak the words and tell the stories that the whole world, even our beloved backyard of Boulder, needs to hear.
So, I’ve been tackling my own lack of awareness, and I hope the news and resources here will be eye-opening to others as well.
The forum will be Thursday, May 27, from 11:30-1:00 at Congregation Har HaShem in Boulder. Please consider attending to learn more about this issue.
Organizations
CU Students Against Modern Day Slavery with a list of 10 ways to help in Colorado
iEmpathize, Boulder-based arts and advocacy organization, focusing on the issue of child sex trafficking.
News
Sex Trafficking in Colorado from CU Independent
The Slave Trader Next Door from Boulder Weekly
Sex trafficking: Modern-day slavery right under our noses from The Rocky Mountain Collegian (CSU’s student paper)
State mobilizes to fight human trafficking from the Denver Post
Workers gear up to battle the seedy underbelly of the DNC from The Colorado Independent
2008 Conference on Human Trafficking
Other information
Human Trafficking in Colorado, video, from The Human Trafficking Project blog
Restoring the Soul 