Archive for sex trafficking

Normal??? Christine McDonald

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Christine "Clarity" McDonald with tags , , , , , , on August 10, 2022 by paulthepoke

Remember that for sex trafficked individuals, their normal is not our normal, and stable is not always stable. Many youths, teens, and adults who are pulled out of commercial exploitation and human trafficking situations, or who enter programs and are placed in the care of loving and healing situations, do not adjust well. The reason for this is that their brains are conditioned to a state of “normal” that functions best in the traumatic situation they have just been removed from.

The longer someone was in the life (human trafficking, prostitution, addiction, etc.), the more deeply engrained this abnormal/normal reversion becomes in their brains, and the longer it will take to break through those barriers to retrain and find a healthy normal.

Changing the mindset and behavior of an individual who has endured a multitude of traumas does not happen by simply changing his or her environment. We have to understand this from the get–go. This is something that even the most loving care professionals may not understand. Often, creating a new and healthy normal for an individual exiting the life involves much counseling and work to alter his or her bases of understanding.

Building trust doesn’t always come easily. They will test you, but be consistent. Your job is to continue to walk alongside them, building trust, helping them process, assisting them as they recover a healthy normal, and allowing them to express their feelings and discover their true selves. The following tools will help you be an agent of this growth as you continue your relationship with them.

In this photo from the film I Will Rise, the actress is reenacting a moment of time. I’ll never forget my humanity was seen. Needs were met. I’ll never forget Miss Jeannie and Metro Lutheran Ministries and that “drop in center” on McGee in the ’90s. She allowed me to sleep on the floor of her office. It was the most significant amount of love I had experienced. #IWillRise

Contact Information:
Christine C. McDonald
636-487-8986
https://iwillriseproject.com/

“Love your neighbor, all of ’em.” -Christine Clarity McDonald

Through The Eyes of Grace – Christine C McDonald 

Setting the Stage for Kindness… Christine McDonald

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Christine "Clarity" McDonald, Uncategorized with tags , , , , on December 20, 2021 by paulthepoke
shallow focus photography of cafe late
Photo by Kevin Menajang on Pexels.com

Continuing the series… If you are an outreach person or a drop–in center worker and have random encounters, it will take many encounters with the same person to build a relationship of trust. Here is a guide and process you can go through at the intake stage that will help set the stage for an organic relationship of kindness.

You are building a relationship organically and verbally, recognizing that they are hurting by offering tissues, water, and maybe special treats that aren’t usually readily available to them. They are seeing you show acts of compassion and kindness. Ask them if they would like to take five minutes before you move on in order to eat or drink and just allow them to breathe. Ask them if they would like you to leave the room for a few minutes, or if they would like you to stay.

Instead of leading off with hugs, try loving the hurting individual by serving them with kindness and a bit of hospitality. For example, you could lead with, “I understand this is difficult; may I get you a cup of tea? Soda?” Keep candy bars in your desk, in a bag, in your car, or in your purse for times like these. A little chocolate, a cup of tea, and a box of tissues can go a long way in helping the person have their space and be allowed to feel what they are experiencing.

Conversations

Don’t force conversations. Instead, ask them after you have given them some time if they would like to talk about anything. Fight the urge to engage further. After all, at this moment of the intake, you are just getting them to open up to a relationship. Don’t force things too early. Don’t probe to get them to talk just because you have a heart that wants to help and is ready to listen. They might not be ready to talk. Although your heart may hurt, you are going to have to fight the urge to hug them and tell them it will be okay. Just remember we are setting the stage for an organic relationship built by the participant, not filling your need to hug and fix!

Contact Information:
Christine C. McDonald
636-487-8986
Christine.CryPurple@gmail.com

“Love your neighbor, all of ’em.” -Christine Clarity McDonald

Through The Eyes of Grace – Christine C McDonald

Building Trust and Relationships With the Hurting… Christine McDonald

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Christine "Clarity" McDonald with tags , , , , , , on July 10, 2021 by paulthepoke
crop friends stacking hands together
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

The church can make a difference—and indeed, has a responsibility to make a difference—for men, women, girls, and boys who are hurting, victimized, addicted, exploited, and suffering. Jesus Christ came to set the captives free, and Christians have the amazing and humbling opportunity to be His hands and feet in this redemptive recovery. Christ calls us to reach out not only to those who are in physical captivity in commercial sexual exploitation escort services, street prostitution, internet exploitation, strip clubs, and other bad situations, but also to those who are captives in their own minds to the lies of the enemy and a distorted understanding of life formed by terrible experiences in their pasts.

It is a great privilege to get to build relationships with hurting individuals and assist them on their path to recovery. But there is much to be learned and understood in order to be effective and helpful in those relationships. The rest of this section is my attempt to help you process through how to foster a healthy relationship and connect with the individual in a way that is empowering for both of you.

For a person who has grown up in a relatively stable, functional environment, things like the words “I love you,” hugs, and other simple, physical touches are normal and generally accepted signs of affection, compassion, or relational affirmation. But for individuals who have been trafficked or prostituted, or are victims of other forms of abuse, these seemingly innocent gestures take on a whole different meaning.

In order to help these individuals, building a relationship of trust is vitally important. But to build that trusting relationship, you need to understand how these gestures—which might be instinctive and well–meaning for you—may affect the individuals you are trying to help. Then you will be equipped with the knowledge you need to be able to discern when these gestures are appropriate and good, and when they are not.

With victims of trafficking, violence, and abuse, you must first understand that their views on relationships have been distorted by their traffickers, abusers, and the men who paid them for their touch. Traffickers and other abusers have emotionally, physically, and sexually harmed them. They have used physical touch and the words “I love you” to coerce and manipulate. Or, worse, they have used these things to initially build trust in their targets, then shown their true selves and brought harm. Some of these individuals were victimized by family members, who used words like “I love you” while doing it. These words and actions now have a tainted internal value. They no longer convey authentic affection; they are tools of manipulation and harm.

When you are trying to build a relationship with someone you are working with, it is nature to want to extend physical gestures or words of affection and affirming. Oftentimes, the individual will reciprocate because of their preformed responses and learned behavior. You may think they are receiving your gestures well when, in fact, their response is a sign of their hurt and abuse. You could be unintentionally intruding on their space or causing them discomfort, yet they have been preprogrammed to give the expected responses instead of responding in a way true to their feelings.

For an individual who has experienced trauma, disparity, abuse, and other ill−treatment, they often have no clue what their true feelings are. The longer an individual has existed in a dysfunctional lifestyle such as substance abuse, neglect, early childhood trauma/abuse, homelessness, and prostitution, the more distanced they become from authentic emotions. Every bit of passing time adds complexity to the challenge of learning to process their true feelings and build organic relationships with friends, acquaintances, helping professionals, and family members.

Contact Information:
Christine C. McDonald
636-487-8986
Christine.CryPurple@gmail.com

“Love your neighbor, all of ’em.” -Christine Clarity McDonald

Through The Eyes of Grace – Christine C McDonald 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEj5RbFpuzjx_CuksAqgyXA/featured

https://crypurplemovie.com/

Not In Our Community, Combatting Sex Trafficking… Christine McDonald

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Christine "Clarity" McDonald with tags , , on April 30, 2021 by paulthepoke

Non-profit agencies, law enforcement, government officials and area stakeholders have joined forces to combat sex trafficking and prostitution in Northeast Kansas City, specifically on Independence Avenue.

The new initiative, which was introduced on April 23, includes billboards and street signs in areas known for activity, circulating photos of “Johns” – buyers of sex – and implementing reform strategies, and resources to help those who are being trafficked.

“This strategy is going to say, ‘Not in our community, not in our city. Not now, not ever, will we allow you to come in and pay for our people. If there wasn’t demand, there would not be traffickers exploiting our vulnerable.'”

For the remainder of the article, see the link below.

http://northeastnews.net/pages/anti-sex-trafficking-coalition-targets-buyers-with-new-initiative/

Contact Information:
Christine C. McDonald
636-487-8986
Christine.CryPurple@gmail.com

“Love your neighbor, all of ’em.” -Christine Clarity McDonald

Through The Eyes of Grace – Christine C McDonald 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEj5RbFpuzjx_CuksAqgyXA/featured

https://crypurplemovie.com/

Kansas City Trafficking Initiative, Christine’s Place

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Christine "Clarity" McDonald with tags , , on October 11, 2020 by paulthepoke

Relentless Pursuit presents Christine’s Place. Our Drop In Center and Crisis Shelter will be located at 5102 Independence Avenue in Kansas City, MO.

Our Drop In Center will be a safe, non judgmental place for prostituted people from all backgrounds and races.

We will provide for their basic needs: hot meals, showers, hygiene supplies, access to washers and dryers for laundry, clean clothes from our clothing closet, and access to health care support.

We will provide: someone to talk to for mental health needs, help in finding shelter or investigate housing options, connect with job search and employment assistance, access to computers, phones, and mail.

Our crisis center will be a safe haven for individuals recovering from trafficking situations by law enforcement.

We will assist in the stabilization to the point of transitional housing or long term residential sheltering.

https://www.rpor.org/

Contact Information:
Christine C. McDonald
636-487-8986
Christine.CryPurple@gmail.com

“Love your neighbor, all of ’em.” -Christine Clarity McDonald

Through The Eyes of Grace –Christine C McDonald 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEj5RbFpuzjx_CuksAqgyXA/featured

https://crypurplemovie.com/

Ripple Effects… Christine McDonald

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Christine "Clarity" McDonald with tags , , , , , , on May 1, 2020 by paulthepoke

For every woman and girl violently attacked, we reduce our humanity. For every woman forced into unprotected sex because men demand this, we destroy dignity and pride. Every woman who has to sell her life for sex we condemn to a lifetime in prison. For every moment we remain silent, we conspire against our women. For every woman infected by HIV, we destroy a generation. —Nelson Mandela

Collateral damage is what we call the loss or injury caused to the unintended victims of an action or event. Many times, when we venture out in a helping capacity, we have our sights squarely focused on the population we serve. Yet, oftentimes, those individuals we serve touch the lives of many we may never encounter.

Compassion and love at their best grow and extend indefinitely. The things we do out of love for others can have a massive ripple effect across time and space. Likewise, the things we don’t do can carry greater, far reaching ramifications. What if one simple, yet sometimes controversial, moment of service could save a life? Conversely, what if a misapplied moral objection costs a life?

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

When we consider human trafficking, exploitation, and prostitution, we tend to recognize the purchaser/exploiter as well as the person being used. However, there is another population that is inadvertently affected yet rarely lands on our radar. Sometimes our narrow view of the impact and our tightly clung–to moral objections have unintended consequences.

When we think of serving and how we serve, the most important thing we can do is put on the love of Christ and remember how much He loves and how He would give all for just one person. We have to ask ourselves, Is making a moral statement that will inevitably be lost more important than the individual?

Jesus was well known in His day for spending His time with those viewed as the biggest sinners. When the religious leaders of the day attacked Him for this, He told a parable about a shepherd who had 100 beloved sheep and one ran away. In the parable, the shepherd left the 99 to go after the one. The Son of God did not withhold His presence from the “sinners” to make a moral statement. Instead, He left us all with a clear example to follow. He made it crystal clear that every one of those “sinners” was invaluable to Him.

Even while knowing His days were limited, Jesus didn’t spend His time with His family and loved ones. Instead, He chose to spend time among the untouchables of His day. And though He—the perfect, holy God of the universe—had many moral objections to their actions, He didn’t let those moral objections become the focus or stand in the way of an opportunity to touch their hearts.

Contact Information:
Christine C. McDonald
636-487-8986
Christine.CryPurple@gmail.com

“Love your neighbor, all of ’em.” -Christine Clarity McDonald

https://crypurplemovie.com/

Christine McDonald, American View Points

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Christine "Clarity" McDonald with tags , on February 14, 2020 by paulthepoke

Revelation 18:11,13 And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls.

For about 17 years, Christine McDonald was sold for sex. Now she’s a human trafficking survivor who uses her experience to help others escape “the life”. McDonald explains some of the ways predators find their victims and trap them in the human trafficking underground. Listen to Christine as she discusses the issue with Mike Ferguson on his show.

https://american-viewpoints.simplecast.com/episodes/show-2-segment-4-christine-mcdonald?fbclid=IwAR3hQl_7ntm0u2QiTn169ZJV7sWbtR1OaKvVfCwrsNS7YODDRkFLft6S_iA

For those who are interested in more of Christine’s discussion with Mike Ferguson, check out the link below at Christinesvision.org

Christine also has three additional appearances listed for your listening pleasure.

http://www.christinesvision.org/media.html

Christine is available to Keynote, present a workshop or consult with your Agency, Corporation, Church or Community on a variety of topics including, but not limited to:

  • Human Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation
  • Safe relational street outreach for Homeless individuals experiencing substance abuse disorders and commercial sexual exploitation
  • Understanding the “Demand” that fuels human trafficking and the commercial sex industry and ways to address it
  • Residential recovery programs for adult trafficking survivors
  • Helping the judiciary system understand symptomatic charges and identify victims of human trafficking
  • Helping medical professionals and hospital systems identify and engage with individuals who deal with substance abuse disorders and are potential victims of human trafficking
  • Substance abuse disorders and recovery
  • Homelessness related topics
  • Topics around formerly incarcerated persons and reentry
  • Inclusion for those with disabilities/ blindness in the workplace, church and the community
  • Parenting as a blind, single parent
  • Passing policy at the local, state and federal level
  • The harms of pornography 
  • Her narrative and testimony
  • Faith based presentations and The Word
  • Engaging with those who have come from harm in the church

Contact Information:
Christine C. McDonald
636-487-8986
Christine.CryPurple@gmail.com

“Love your neighbor, all of ’em.” -Christine Clarity McDonald

https://crypurplemovie.com/

Character Counts… Christine McDonald

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Christine "Clarity" McDonald, Culture with tags , , , , , on November 12, 2019 by paulthepoke

Unfortunately, some seemingly good resources can be hiding places for those who would prey on the broken and exploited. We can’t assume that someone’s title—pastor, teacher, officer, doctor, etc.—is necessarily a reflection of their character.

The enemy of our souls doesn’t have to work too hard to keep a broken soul from finding freedom or from finding Christ while they are on the street. But when glimmers and flickers of hope pop up through helping ministries and programs, it only takes one untrustworthy individual to destroy all other efforts.

Those of us who have chosen to fight against trafficking, exploitation, and the devaluing of human life must also accept the responsibility of being above reproach in our actions and words. We must be willing to shine a light on the shadows and areas of darkness even within our own organizations. To look the other way or allow these things to pass without consequence makes us equally responsible as those who are devouring human souls by turning them into commodities that can be traded, sold, or discarded.

photo: Shutterstock

Good day everyone! Be blessed! God is stirring something in KC. He is gathering His people, a little revivalish… a lot radical for Jesus! Transformational Kingdom work! Restoration for His people, hope inspired, transformational grace, endless mercies.

Stay tuned cause everyone will have a place at the Table. Keep watching in the weeks to come for the details and announcements. And I’ll look forward to seeing you there!

“Love your neighbor, all of ’em.” -Christine Clarity McDonald

https://crypurplemovie.com/

Do Your Best… Christine McDonald

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Christine "Clarity" McDonald, Culture with tags , , on October 27, 2019 by paulthepoke

From The Same Kind of Human, Seeing the Marginalized and Exploited through Eyes of Grace

God does not demand that every man attain to what is theoretically highest and best. It is better to be a good street sweeper than a bad writer, better to be a good bartender than a bad doctor, and the repentant thief who died with Jesus on Calvary was far more perfect than the holy ones who had Him nailed to the cross. And yet, abstractly speaking, what is more holy than the priesthood and less holy than the state of a criminal? The dying thief had, perhaps, disobeyed the will of God in many things: but in the most important event of his life he listened and obeyed. The Pharisees had kept the law to the letter and had spent their lives in the pursuit of a most scrupulous perfection. But they were so intent upon perfection as an abstraction that when God manifested His will and His perfection in a concrete and definite way they had no choice but to reject it. ―Thomas Merton, No Man Is an Island

Christine McDonald was recently featured on Fox 4 News. See the link below for the written article and video report.

“Love your neighbor, all of ’em.” -Christine Clarity McDonald

https://crypurplemovie.com/

Christine McDonald to Speak at INSPIRE

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Christine "Clarity" McDonald, Culture with tags , , , , , , on August 16, 2019 by paulthepoke

As a child, Christine McDonald’s life at home was nightmarish. She was in a poverty-stricken, fatherless home. Her mother struggled with mental illness. She suffered from sexual abuse. She’d been in juvenile justice and foster care.

She ran away — dozens of time.

Now an author, whose first book about her journey out of sexual exploitation and human trafficking is to be made into a film, McDonald is a consultant and motivational speaker…

https://www.facebook.com/events/472527770156471/permalink/489917895084125/

Christine is set to speak about under-served and marginalized populations during INSPIRE, a daylong women’s conference September 14, 2019 to raise money for homeless children and help women “nourish, beautify and feed their souls.”

INSPIRE is 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. September 14 at Miller Performing Arts Center, 501 Madison St. in Jefferson City, Missouri.

Tickets are $50 and may be found at haloworldwide.org. Once on the site, click on “Events,” then on “INSPIRE: A women’s conference to benefit HALO.”

A tab for buying tickets is on that page. VIP tickets, which cost $100, will allow ticket-holders to attend a meet-and-greet with speakers at a cocktail and hors d’oeuvres reception following the event from 4-6 p.m. in the Bella Vista Room at Double Tree by Hilton Hotel, 422 Monroe St. in Jefferson City, Missouri.

For the complete article, see the link below.

http://www.newstribune.com/news/local/story/2019/aug/15/sex-trafficking-survivor-speak-halo-event/790785/

“Love your neighbor, all of ’em.” -Christine Clarity McDonald

https://crypurplemovie.com/


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