Blog - Bring Freedom

How Do We Blackout Trafficking?

Last year, I became aware of a second “fashion challenge” focused on fighting human trafficking. I had already been a participant in Dressember for several years, but a friend was doing Blackout Trafficking during March. I was in the midst of the first year of widowhood, and needed to surround myself with color to keep my head above water. But, I was intrigued by the simplicity of wearing a black piece of clothing for a month to spread awareness and focus on the need to donate toward effective nonprofits this arena.

From their website: Limiting Our Freedom To Bring Freedom To Others — Once a year individuals from around the world commit to igniting a broader awareness of human trafficking while raising funds for anti-trafficking organizations. The method is simple–wear your chosen black item of clothing each and every day of March.

We’ve been so busy developing out trainings, online challenges, and building the Bring Freedom programs. I felt the need to ground myself in a daily choice to show this mission of ending human trafficking to anyone I encounter. So, I chose to wear an item of black clothing every day in March. Surprisingly, I do actually feel limited.

Zona and I have been posting daily, and decided to focus our own fundraising efforts on Bring Freedom’s upcoming K-8 program. Our goal is to reach children in the classrooms with short video messages in order to prevent trafficking and abuse, as well as offer partnerships to their parents so that the entire family is equipped and educated to fight this injustice in their own homes and communities. By breaking it down through the numbers of our goal reach, it will only take $25 to sponsor a classroom for this groundbreaking educational tool. We can all Blackout Trafficking by working together!

Love and Justice

With all the focus on love and romance at this time, I thought it would be a good time to address some concerns in this arena.

First, and I can’t stress this enough, you don’t need a romantic partner to be a whole and healthy person. Our societal stress on relationships and sex builds up false expectations, anxiety about missing out, and can create dangerous situations. According to Polaris, the organization which runs the National Human Trafficking Hotline, “many survivors have been trafficked by romantic partners, including spouses, and by family members, including parents.” This is the overwhelming majority of cases in the U.S. So, it’s important to watch for red flags, guard your heart, and listen to concerns of people you trust.

Second, if you’re into giving Valentine’s Day gifts, or really any gifts for loved ones, you can use your buying power for GOOD! Purchase Fair Trade or Direct Trade chocolates, consider handmade cards by moms in Haiti who are supporting their families, gift flowers from fair trade farms, and look for jewelry from companies who are part of the Fair Trade Federation. Our gestures of love and affection shouldn’t come at the expense of another’s life. When you make these conscious choices, you make a real difference in the fight against human trafficking.

And, finally, let me leave you with this thought. (And, please forgive me for wearing my heart on my sleeve for a moment.) No matter what you’re going through, or how you’re feeling about your love life, “No power in the sky above or in the earth below – indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:39)

Wrapping up National Human Trafficking Prevention Month

Since 2010, January has been set aside as a month of recognition of the dangers and realities of human trafficking in the United States of America. We raise awareness, we share stories, we celebrate victories in the continued fight for justice. It’s a moment for us to collectively look at ourselves as Americans in the mirror and come to terms with how far we have to go toward ending slavery in this day and age. Bring Freedom has a goal of ending human trafficking within our lifetimes. That will take teamwork, connections, education, and above all — PREVENTION. Just a couple days ago, I was smacked in the face with a statistic shared on the Operation Underground Railroad Instagram feed, “Last year, over 50% of trafficking survivors in the U.S. were minors.” (From the Human Trafficking Institute)

I was overwhelmed, once again, by the magnitude of the task before us. Let’s take a closer look at that statistic. They are mentioning trafficking SURVIVORS, which mean that they are including all of the individuals who have been rescued last year. We already know that less than 10% of trafficking victims are rescued. The necessity of preventing this injustice is of utmost importance. We need to protect our children. We need to keep our neighborhoods, schools, and churches safe. It’s going to take each one of us to make the commitment to join hands and be present in our own towns to end human trafficking. Prevention is the quickest and most effective way to do this. As we wrap up National Human Trafficking Prevention Month this week, let’s make that commitment once again. We can do this, we will do this.

Persons with Lived Experience

Alexander Rey Perez

"The Business of Selling Kids" Jimmi Toro Speaks out Against Organized Abuse Rings with Rescue 11 : BringFreedom Org – Persons with Lived Experience: Inspiring Stories for Unprecedented Times with Bring Freedom Org

"The Business of Selling Kids" Jimmi Toro Speaks out Against Organized Abuse Rings with Rescue 11: BringFreedom Org Trigger Warning: Please note this episode has adult themes including suicide ideation, overdose, mental health concerns, panic attacks, child torture, child abuse, ritual abuse, csam, child sexual abuse material, and satanic ritual abuse. Jimmi Toro is an American contemporary, internationally acclaimed artist, author of his new book HEAL, founder of the non-profit Rescue11 whose mission is to protect children against predators, composer, and music producer. Jimmi has spoken at numerous events and mental health panels, including the 2023 NBA All-Star event. He has also created art for various charity-related projects with Rescue11, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Make a Wish Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, and The Orange Duffel Bag Initiative. In his new book “HEAL,” Jimmi uses his art and stories to explain the realities of childhood trauma, its physical and mental effects, the suppression of memories, and how they resurface, and he explains the complex realities and the ugly side of recovery while bringing hope to those suffering. It is a tough road, but you absolutely can heal! Tiktok Facebook Instagram www.jimmitoro.com Website about the artist, the journey, and the book. www.rescue11.org Non-profit for saving children. To Donate toward supporting awareness and prevention trainings and resources for individuals, agencies and families: Venmo @BringFreedom Or on the Website: Bringfreedom.org Podcast: Persons With Lived Experience: Inspiring Stories for Unprecedented Times Visit the podcast page on our website or find anywhere you listen to podcasts. Become a valued patron of the podcast here: https://www.patreon.com/bringfreedomorg If you or someone you know would like information on how to prevent and end trafficking in America Sign up for our newsletter here → https://bringfreedom.org/get-involved/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bringfreedomorg Facebook: Bring Freedom @bringfreedomorg Website: Bringfreedom.org Venmo @BringFreedom Linked IN: Zona https://www.linkedin.com/in/zona-garrett-plantosucceed Dixie https://www.linkedin.com/in/dixie-canuso-lifebeautypurpose/ Bring Freedom LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bring-freedom/ To send a tax-deductible donation toward supporting awareness and prevention trainings and resources for individuals, agencies and families: Venmo @BringFreedom or on bringfreedom.org Zona’s Amazon Favorites here: https://linktr.ee/christianinfluencer Zona’s Latest Links https://www.christianinfluencerinspired.com/whatsthatlink Dixie’s Trades of Hope Link Book a party here or shop at this link! tradesofhope.com/DIXIECANUSO Some of the links feature items that may receive an affiliate commission to continue this important work. — Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pwle/support

Always Learning New Things

When Zona approached me with the idea of doing a podcast featuring people with lived experience of injustice, I was somewhat hesitant because I honestly hadn’t even listened to many podcasts. I hate talking on the phone, and this felt like talking on the phone with strangers for an hour. However, I trust her and understood the value of hearing their stories and making them available for an audience to experience through this medium. After the first interview, I was hooked. Each individual was engaging, and I was drawn in to their personal stories of tragedy, overcoming, and healing.

Our first episode of the podcast, Persons with Lived Experience: Inspiring Stories for Unprecedented Times, came out on Monday. What seemed like a herculean task was finally accomplished, and we released Alina Donahue’s story. On the surface, she is a strong, inspiring woman dedicated to ending human trafficking. She is so much more. I hope you’ve had a chance to listen! If not, it’s available on Spotify, Anchor, Amazon Music, Audible, and soon on other outlets.

Some things I learned from Alina’s story, as shared on the podcast, were eye-opening even as a long time advocate in the field of anti-trafficking. It’s important to keep these things in mind in regards to romantic relationships because boyfriends and husbands can become traffickers.

• Having mutual friends doesn’t mean he is a safe person.

• If he pressures you to do something against your personal beliefs, or before you’re comfortable, that’s a red flag of manipulation.

• Giving lots of attention, loving words, presents, or “treating you like a queen” doesn’t mean he has earned anything from you.

• A man being okay with sharing you with another man, or encouraging it, means that he has ulterior motives.

There is so much more to Alina’s journey, but I wanted to share these things that I am still processing. It’s important to keep learning, stay curious, and not turn away from hard truths.

Your fellow abolitionist,

Dixie Canuso, Co-Founder Bring Freedom

A Word from our Co-Founder

When I began my journey of education around human trafficking, there were few resources and
almost no way to understand the full scope of the problem.
In the annual Trafficking in Persons report from the State Department, the United States alone
reported over 66,000 attempts to contact for assistance and over 10,000 identified victims in
2021.* We believe even one is too many.
We need education and strategic action to move us into positive solutions to eliminate human
trafficking in local communities. While movies sensationalize children being kidnapped
and sold into other countries, we know that many children are being trafficked at night and still
attend school and do other activities during the day.
Freedom will occur with widespread and multifaceted prevention, intervention, rescue, and
restoration for those who have experienced human trafficking or exploitation.
As a survivor-led agency, we focus on Lived Expertise in every part of our training materials. We
are not only committed to understanding how to break down the snares of trafficking but giving
an active voice to our lived experience community members. Our goal is to make fighting
human trafficking so normal it doesn’t take a great effort in our communities but includes
everyday activities so commonplace that everyone can be a part of the abolitionist movement.
We will fight to bring freedom to every community.

Your Fellow Abolitionist,
Zona Garrett, COO Bring Freedom