The Current project we are working on (and raising funds for) is called Embraced, Truth About Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).

FASD is the number one birth defect in the Western Hemisphere and is a major factor contributing to human trafficking on a global scale. Alcohol consumed during pregnancy (any amount, at any time, including breast feeding up to age 5) has the potential to cause a brian injury in a child. This brain injury causes serious damage—compromising executive functions, creating havoc in understanding social skills, grasping the concept of how actions are related to consequences, along with a host of other concerns.

These issues make this population, especially children, vulnerable

to be prayed upon. There is not much conversation addressing mental health’s role related to trafficking-of-persons. The Embraced project is aimed at starting a national conversation. We invited you to engage in the project and be a part of the movement for FASD awareness and it’s relationship to human trafficking. You can do this via watching the Sample Clips below, contributing to help fund the project (we’ll even add your name to the film’s end credits) or exploring the website for additional information. Website for Embraced.

HOPE+RESQ's programs disrupt the drivers of human trafficking's Supply and Demand. Using the arts, film production, and out-of-the-box educational programs, we work collaboratively with many partners, taking their vision and expertise with youth, women, and men, and combining it with our media expertise, so that together we have greater impact.  

Our name, HOPE 27, is designed to bring hope to and awareness of the 27-million people estimated to be in slavery around the world*. Through music, sporting events, film, and slave-free product sales, we build the needed awareness and prompt fundraising efforts to fight this crime.

*For years, the U.S. Department has estimated that 27-million people across the planet are trapped in various forms of slavery. 

This is a crime against humanity that touches all of us, whether we know it or not. Labor slavery is the largest component and is often found in the supply chains of the coffee we drink, the chocolate we devour, the soccer balls we kick, the clothes we wear, the electronics we use, and many, many more. The list goes on and on. The global slavery numbers also include the many women and children trapped in the sex industry. This slavery can be found overseas or in our backyards, regardless of the size or location of the town or city. Whether it is porn, prostitution, exotic dancing, escorts, or “just” as sex objects in our culture in subtle or overt ways, these demands are placed on the woman and children that we may know. 

Researchers report that today's Slavery, also known as Human Trafficking, is generating $150 billion each year in illicit profits for traffickers. The numbers (keep in mind, these are people enslaved against their will) break down as follows: Approximately 78 percent travail in forced labor slavery, Sex Slavery comprises about 22 percent, and 26 percent of today’s slaves are victims of Child Slavery.

To drive home the point, human trafficking is driven by a Supply and a Demand and this is why we are using our media background and experience to address this global pandemic. 

Slavery statistics come from the U.N. International Labor Organization and the Walk Free Global Slavery Index