Invisible people

“The very first time that it actually sunk in I was terrified,” said Alicia Williams. “I actually said, ‘This is it. This is the bottom. And what am I going to do to get back to the top?’”

At 15-years-old, Williams became homeless after running away from an abusive foster home. She continued school as a straight-A student and competed in school sports until being homeless started causing problems. She wasn’t getting enough sleep, was dirty and had nowhere to go.

Continue reading the story

 

Homelessness in Baltimore. Photo by Nicole Fallek

 

 

Read Full Post »

A playground not for kids

My name is Melissa Hale and I am thankful I can say I am not one of the 1.5 million women in the United States that are abused each year. I am hoping to use this blog to ‘tell the untold” for women that have suffered some type of abuse and use it as a place to state my own opinions about abuse in America.

This morning as I woke up to enjoy myself some waffles with my usual checking of emails and news updates, I came across an article that put a stop to my buttery syrup cravings.  A  Temple Hills man was charged with trafficking girls as young as 11 and selling them for sex in the prostitution track of D.C.

The article goes on to describe the victims this man had been ‘pimping out.’ A 13-year-old girl they found had been reported missing and had spent the last three years as one of his prostitutes. As part of Washington D.C.’s Human Trafficking Awareness Month, activists with Shared Hope international are putting up signs in the area with the message, “13 is the average age children are forced into prostitution.”

I read articles like this and can’t help but ask the question, “Why is this still happening?” We occasionally see in the news that people are being charged for human or sex trafficking, but what is really being done about it? Sure, we can estimate the approximate number of women that are abused or trafficked, but there are still so many others that are remaining in silence because they fear for their life or the life of loved ones. This is a big issue that needs to be put on a pedestal and recognized for what it really is.

On Towson University’s campus, there are several reasources available to students that may have suffered from abuse, know someone who has, or is just looking to volunteer to help. Local support groups, workshops, and the counseling center on campus are all great places to start.

I personally have never been abused, but I know people who have and I’ve seen what it can do to your life. I’ve seen it destroy a marriage, relationships with their children, self-esteem and any hope they’d once had of trusting someone else. It can take over your life if you let it. Don’t give it the chance and fight to live.

Read Full Post »