07/24/2020 | July 2020 Issue
|
|
During these very challenging and unprecedented times some of the most deeply impacted among us have been the incarcerated.
They have been cut off from direct contact with loved ones and the thousands of faith-based volunteers that normally arrive like clockwork to visit, nurture, equip and encourage.
I think this article posted on the
World website
does a terrific job of underscoring the current challenges and nicely highlights the efforts of two of our partner organizations (
Prison Fellowship
and
God Behind Bars
) and their efforts to make a difference in spite of the challenges.
|
|
The Six Triple Eight Documentary Screening
|
In February 1945, the U.S. Army sent 855 black women from the Women’s Army Corps (WACs) to England and France to clear the backlog of mail in the European Theater of Operations. The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, known as the Six Triple Eight, was the only all-black female battalion to serve in Europe during WWII.
The screening also featured a Q&A panel
with Alva Stevenson and Rosenda Moore, daughters of the late Six Triple Eight member Lydia Thornton Moore, as well as Retired Army Lt. Colonel Patricia Jackson-Kelley, moderated by Marine veteran Keshia Javis-Jones.
|
|
|
Serving USA partners with three organizations whose leaders were speakers at the Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation's Online Global Summit.
- Amanda Hightower - REST Seattle
- Program Model: Short-Term and Emergency Residential Care in the US
- Dr. Stephany Powell - Journey Out
- Succeeding as a Survivor-led Movement
- Misunderstood: Understanding the Commercially Sexually Exploited African American Girl - An Intersectional Approach
- Promoting Racial Equality in Our Movement to End the Sex Trade
- Harmony Grillo - Treasures
- Promoting Racial Equality in Our Movement to End the Sex Trade
|
|
|
|
Mighty Oaks 10th Annual Warrior Gala
October 10, 2020
|
Join Mighty Oaks as they celebrate their 10th Annual Warrior Gala.
Mighty Oaks
proudly serves our great Nation’s Warriors including active-duty military, veterans, first responders, and their spouses.
They are very proud to announce their distinguished keynote speaker for the evening, United States Senator, Ted Cruz (TX).
|
|
|
Saint John's Polo For Change
October 11, 2020
|
Saint John’s 4th Annual Polo for Change combines the excitement of a polo match with the event of the season!
Guests enjoy an afternoon of polo, delicious food and drink, a silent auction, live music, equine demonstrations, and the traditional Champagne Divot Stomp!
All proceeds benefit
Saint John’s Program for Real Change
providing formerly homeless women and children the opportunity to change the trajectory of their lives through a 12- to 18-month comprehensive residential program.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, event attendance will be limited with individual cabanas available for parties of 10 (no individual tickets will be sold). We will employ all social distancing and precautions necessary to provide for the safety of all in attendance.
|
|
Featured Partner
Forgotten Children, Inc.
|
|
For more than 14 years,
Forgotten Children, Inc
. (FCI) has provided trauma informed prevention, intervention and after-care supportive services to adult victims of human trafficking. Their direct, yet unique style of restoring, rescuing and providing hope to survivors has made the difference in countless lives.
During the Novell Covid-19 Pandemic, FCI continues to create a safe space at their safe house Rachel’s House of Healing (RHH) where residents can flourish. Staff and residents have found exceptional ways to invest their time, treasure and talents by cultivating a garden and spending time at the pond,
right on the property
.
|
|
Studies have found that planting and harvesting a garden, can be a therapeutic process in its own right. Gardening reduces stress and calms the nerves. It decreases cortisol, a hormone that plays a role in stress response.
Exposing women with severe trauma issues to natural environments is critical to their healing and rehabilitation. Our residential staff work tirelessly to ensure our safe house is a SAFE PLACE for women to HEAL.
Studies have also found that touching playing and cuddling animals helps people with trauma related issues reduce stress and enhance overall health and well-being.
|
|
Creating a healthy trauma informed environment is necessary for human trafficking survivors. Residents of RHH have the daily benefit of gardening, riding horses, arts/crafts, interacting with their mentors (via video and live chat), creating amazing art projects and participating in daily prayer.
|
|
#STANDWITHUS
The greatest impact you can have in someone's life can be made by simply answering the phone.
FCI experienced this first hand when they received a call from one of their previous residents. She expressed her regret in leaving the program and was hoping they would take her back.
She was alone in a motel room and feared for her life.
Social distancing has made escaping trafficking even more difficult, as COVID-19 creates ideal isolation circumstances for traffickers to control their victims.
Traffickers have only adapted their exploitative ways in light of COVID-19, not abated them.
Victims are being exploited and trafficked in various ways.
|
|
|
The moment FCI and their team answered the phone, Laila (
not her real name
) began to cry.
She shared the horrors she experienced once she returned to the life and the brutality she and a few other girls went through.
Unfortunately, Laila is no stranger to abuse. In her short 20 years of life, she has been in and out of the foster care system since she was 11 years old.
Forced into prostitution at the age of 12 and with no family to care for her, Rachel's House of Healing (RHH) has become the safest place for her to go.
It’s stories like Laila's that prompted FCI to launch their
#STANDWITHUS campaign
.
In these unprecedented times people are looking for a safe place to run to...FCI is that place!
|
|
Featured Partner
WAVES Project
|
|
The
WAVES Project
provides a SCUBA Diving experience to American veterans who have been injured during their service. SCUBA has been shown to be therapeutic in helping to reduce symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress, Anxiety and Nerve Pain.
Limiting sensory input while underwater has a calming effect and weightlessness relieves pain. Amputees and paralyzed veterans participate with their “able bodied” buddies, being able to move freely underwater without the land based limitations of wheel chairs and prosthetic limbs.
The most effective program is called “Mission Oriented Diving” where veterans who have completed their basic open water certifications train to work on projects with the National Park Service.
Those who participate love the experience because they have the opportunity to serve again in a military like atmosphere. There are specific missions, they must know how to assemble their gear, there is a chain of command so they know who is in charge, and there is the camaraderie of working alongside their “buddies” who they must trust.
|
|
In May of this year we began a faith-based men’s leadership program for veterans, they meet Wednesday evenings in our facility or can join remotely through online access. In August we are beginning a 9 week course on improving life skills and goal setting. These types of meetings are helping maintain contact with those in our programs on a regular basis to help reduce isolation due to virus concerns.
We are currently working on four different projects:
|
|
|
|
Lake Mead National Park Arizona
|
Lake Mead National Park Arizona, underwater mapping of the aggregate plant used to sort rock while building the Hoover Dam.
This map will be used by recreational divers to safely explore the area. Missions are conducted twice per year, in the spring and fall with an expected completion of 10/2021.
After completion this team will move to Lake Mohave, Arizona.
|
|
Dry Tortuga’s at Fort Jefferson National Park - Florida
|
Dry Tortuga’s at Fort Jefferson National Park - Florida, 8 WAVES Project divers conduct annual maintenance on buoys used for boaters and to mark swimming areas in the park.
They inspect the shackles to ensure they are securely attached and clean hydroids from the chains and buoys.
|
|
|
|
|
Channel Islands National Park California
|
Channel Islands National Park California is the newest project conducted by an all-female dive team with the purpose of counting sea life and evaluating the health of the kelp forest.
The first project served as an introduction and will be followed up by ongoing trips as more female veteran divers are trained.
|
|
USS Arizona, Pearl Harbor - Honolulu
|
USS Arizona, Pearl Harbor - Honolulu is the most scientific of all projects and the most limited; only 4 veterans are allowed to participate each year.
Oil is leaking from the sunken ship’s storage tanks; WAVES Project divers work alongside the underwater archeologists of the National Park Service to capture the leaking oil and measure flow rates.
Samples of the oil are taken and sent to a lab for analysis to determine if there are any changes year over year.
Experiments are being conducted to find ways to minimize the leakage, preserve the site and mitigate any potential environmental damage.
Veterans who participate also learn about the historical significance of the entire area and approach this project with the reverence it deserves as the final resting place for so many who gave their lives in service of our country.
|
|
|
Several of these dive sites can only be accessed as part of the National Parks Service Submerged Resources Center dive team. WAVES Project Veterans are trained to meet the NPS standards and are part of a very exclusive group of divers in the world who are allowed to take part in these projects.
Veterans are at an increased risk for suicide and we offer them a new perspective, a new and exciting therapy in the form of adventure with the camaraderie they are missing from their time in service to our country.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
