Though many of you have followed NaSHEville and She’s in the City for a while now, for both our long-term friends and our new ones, we want to spend some time taking a deeper look at the missions closest to our heart: trafficking victims, widows, and orphans and vulnerable children. This week we sit down with Leslie Eiler Thompson, who works with End Slavery Tennessee and hosts their podcast, Someone Like Me.

As our primary partner for human trafficking, End Slavery has been a pivotal pioneer in not just the local, but also the national, fight against trafficking, a term in and of itself that wasn’t even used or recognized until the last decade. Because of their work alongside many other advocate groups, sex trafficking is now legally defined as:  

any commercial sex act that involves force, fraud, or coercion or the exchange of value; and ALL commercial sex acts involving minors

End Slavery not only fights for victims’ rights by way of national policy and legislation reform, but they are also the first point of contact for trafficking victims in Middle Tennessee. They bring a full circle approach to the fight, offering everything from education and public advocacy, to prevention, training, and holistic, trauma informed treatment and rehabilitation for victims in their care and their programs.

If you’ve seen social media campaigns on trafficking or have it on your heart to learn more, don’t miss this episode where we get an inside look at what it’s really like. We explore questions like:

What demographics are being trafficked? What are the red flags? What is the survivor’s journey to healing like once they are rescued? How crucial is community for their recovery? How does the average person help?

Much like poverty and world hunger, the only approach to fighting this evil and serving its victims is to start locally, right here at home. Thanks to organizations like End Slavery, we can!