Pictured above: Poiema’s Bedford campus before departing on Outreach.
Hi Poiema family!
Our Community Awareness Outreach volunteers have been hard at work since the start of the year! Thanks to their efforts, we’ve distributed over 2,000 missing kids’ posters and submitted critical intel to 4TheOne.
One of the key objectives of this Outreach Ministry is education. Our volunteers learn how to spot red flags of human trafficking in their communities and everyday lives. Wouldn’t it be amazing if the education you receive on Outreach could help you make a difference in your neighborhood? This was the case for two of our Cleburne volunteers. They astutely identified signs of human trafficking (and a missing minor from Poiema’s poster!) in their family’s neighborhood and courageously took action to help those involved.
Keep reading below for more information about this story and others — and to learn how many children were recovered last month!
Maggie and Jordan, co-leaders of our Cleburne outreach campus, shared that last fall their family moved out of their home and placed it as a rental property. There was a break-in at the home and before they knew it, the home was overtaken by squatters. Neighbors reported many different cars and people (including minors) coming and going from the home at all hours. One day while installing security cameras outside the home, Jordan witnessed a man in an upscale vehicle dropped an underage girl (who they described as looking “troubled and out of place”) off at the home and waited outside for her. From the education Maggie and Jordan received through Poiema, they recognized this (combined with other red flag behavior they witnessed at the home) as a possible human trafficking situation. Through security camera footage, Maggie realized that this young girl was a missing minor from one of our posters! They immediately contacted 4TheOne and 911 to report what they saw. Law Enforcement then took over the case pursuing those involved.
As our Bedford volunteers were sharing a missing kids’ poster with a clerk at a smoke shop, a nearby customer overheard the conversation and swiftly told the clerk, “You need to hang their poster! My sister was recovered through one of their posters!” What a God-ordained coincidence – and praise Jesus for the recovery of her sister!
This past month, many businesses in Dallas shared with our volunteers that they saw J. Esparza and T. Ellison at various locations throughout the city. Both of these young women are still missing; please join us in praying for their recovery as well as safe and loving homes for each of them!
In March, SIX of the sixteen missing children from our posters were found! We often don’t know the details of the child’s home life after they are recovered, so please continue to pray that they have a loving and stable home.
The contributions of our volunteers is invaluable, and it’s because of people like you that we continue to make strides in helping locate missing minors. Together, we’re making a real impact! Thank you for your ongoing dedication to this vital cause.
Human Trafficking Tip of the Month
Human trafficking impacts not only girls and women, but also men and boys. In fact, Polaris Project cites a study which “estimates that as many as half of sex trafficking victims and survivors are male. Advocates believe that percentage may be even higher but that male victims are far less likely to be identified.” Click here to learn more.
If you couldn’t make it out last month, there are plenty of upcoming opportunities to attend Outreach! Click here to view the calendar on VolunteerHub and register. Thank you for partnering with Poiema as we educate our communities, engage in the fight, and empower survivors.
P.S. We want to feature your team’s photo in the outreach blogs! Snap a picture at your next outreach and email it to natalie@poiemafoundation.org.
