Childhood Exploitation Is A Conversation We Cannot Hide From
“Childhood exploitation is one of those subjects that immediately creates both an emotional and physical reaction.
We hear about it on the news, see stories on social media, or read about it in the newspaper. No matter where we encounter it, it is disturbing. It is also a subject many of us would rather not have to think about.
But we need to talk about it.
As an advisor and donor to GRACE — Girls Rising Above Childhood Exploitation — I have seen this reaction firsthand. When I talk with people about childhood exploitation and the work GRACE does, there is often a visible change in their expression. It is a difficult subject to hear about and an even more difficult reality to imagine.
Yet having these conversations is important. Childhood exploitation is not something that happens only somewhere else or to someone else’s family. It is a serious problem that can touch our families, our friends, and our communities.
For the leadership and staff at GRACE, these difficult conversations are part of their work every day.
GRACE provides critical support to young people who have experienced exploitation, including something especially important: a safe place to go. Through GRACE Refuge, a young person can leave a dangerous and destructive situation and enter a living environment where safety, stability, and healing can begin.
For some, that includes providing a safe place not only for the young person, but also for their child.
The Refuge offers more than shelter. It provides space to begin rebuilding self-confidence and self-worth, to experience care and support, and ultimately to begin changing the trajectory of a life.
GRACE’s work extends beyond the Refuge. The organization helps provide essential supplies and groceries, transportation to appointments and meetings, educational opportunities, healing art classes, and other services and activities designed to support young people as they move forward.
This is difficult work. It requires compassion, patience, commitment, and a willingness to have conversations most of us will never be called upon to have.
The leadership and staff at GRACE do this work every day because every young person deserves the opportunity to feel safe, valued, and hopeful about the future.
But GRACE cannot do it alone.
The services GRACE provides — and its ability to reach and support more young people who need help — depend on the generosity of donors and supporters.
I support GRACE because I believe this work matters. I hope you will take the time to learn more about what GRACE does, the young people it serves, and how you can help.
Please visit girlsrisingabove.org to learn more about GRACE, its programs, and ways to support its mission.”