By Marilyn Thomas
According to the Department of Homeland Security human trafficking “can happen in any community, and victims can be any age, race, gender, or nationality.” Organizations like the local Lighthouse for Life exist to combat this heinous activity by spreading awareness to the public and providing assistance to victims. Many people choose to ignore these ugly parts of our culture, are afraid to get involved, or will not take the time to try to understand how they can help.
Take a normal high school student for instance; a young girl who is doing great in school, has a stable home life, and lives in an affluent neighborhood. While at a party with friends, she becomes intoxicated or incoherent from illegal substances. The next day, sex traffickers, who were also at the party, contact and blackmail the girl with photos of her activities from the night before. Fearful of the repercussions, she complies with their demands. Before she is rescued, she is violently assaulted and trafficked for several months, all while she continues to live at home and attend school every day.
Another girl, age 14, does not always see eye-to-eye with her mom; she confides in an older female friend who seems to truly care. After building a relationship of trust, the girl is invited to meet with a “friend” at a hotel. Before she realizes what is happening, her phone is taken and she is trafficked in two local counties.
Although these scenarios may sound like something that would happen somewhere else, these are events that have occurred within our local community. “It started to take on a whole new passion for me, the more I learned how huge and prevalent it is all around us, and most of us have no idea about it,” says Lisa Kejr, CEO of Lighthouse for Life, a biblical, faith-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to “eradicate human trafficking by educating the community and empowering survivors.”
The facts she shares are alarming: “SLED [South Carolina Law Enforcement Division] identified over 400 cases of sex trafficking last year in the state of South Carolina; of those, 399 involved minors. Human trafficking is outgrowing the drug market. Since COVID hit, there has been an increase in the use of technology as a means to recruit and exploit.” She adds, “It targets the vulnerabilities, and therefore, it places everybody at risk because everybody has vulnerabilities.”
To make a meaningful difference, Lighthouse for Life has a two-fold approach. “For the education side,” says Ms. Kejr, “we do trainings all around the state, very tailored to our audience to help them understand what this looks like and to be a part of that fight.” To assist the survivors Lighthouse for Life operates Karis Home, a safe house for minors aged 12 to 21, and the ministry also provides referrals to case management services, which connect survivors with resources in the local community.
In early 2024, Lighthouse has plans to open a “one-stop-shop” drop-in center in a safe location that will offer programs “that can help empower survivors in their journey to healing,” says Ms. Kejr. “The center will allow for showers, laundry services, a meal at noon, resources for accessing needs within the community, like computers [and] assistance with job applications. It will provide a calendar of classes that our survivors can sign up for to either get life skills training and finance management, parenting classes, cooking classes, anything like that, or just skills to help them learn who they are.”
Biannually, Lighthouse hosts a 13week support group program called “Ending the Game” that is designed specifically for victims of sex trafficking. “That will allow them to really come to a place collectively within a community of other survivors and process their trauma and work through that,” says Ms. Kejr. If someone is in danger and needs immediate assistance, “The best thing to do is to call 9-1-1,” says Ms. Kejr, “or there’s the [National Human Trafficking] hotline number, which is 888-373-7888.”
The three main ways the community can support Lighthouse for Life in achieving its mission is by giving financially, praying for the organization’s success, and serving and participating in activities (like the Light the Fight 5K Run/Walk in the spring). Get involved today and protect our youth in the Midlands!
LIGHTHOUSE FOR LIFE
Office: 6108 Bush River Rd. Columbia, SC 29212
Mail: 7320 Broad River Rd., Suite K 247 Irmo, SC 29063 [email protected]
803.669.0110
