Jesusfreakhideout.com Music News, July 2014: The Exodus Road Works to Fight Modern Day Slavery and Human Trafficking

THE EXODUS ROAD WORKS TO FIGHT MODERN DAY SLAVERY AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING THROUGH FACILITATING AND EMPOWERING UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATIONS, RAIDS AND RESCUES FOR VICTIMS, AND ARRESTS OF CRIMINALS

Global efforts bring people together and give a voice to the voiceless

NEWS SOURCE: Rogers & Cowan
July 8, 2014

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) July 8, 2014-The Exodus Road, a leader in fighting modern day slavery, is giving a voice to the voiceless by working tirelessly to bring about freedom and helping to put an end to sex trafficking. With several key initiatives in place, the organization continues to ask others to join them in the fight.

"The Exodus Road is committed to bringing the strategic process of deliverance to a worldwide community," said Matt Parker, former youth minister and founder of The Exodus Road, who started the nonprofit with his wife, Laura. "Collaboration, empowerment, and strategic rescue are the heartbeats of our organization."

With a collective reach of over 5 million, The Exodus Road recently completed one initiative, a recent blogger trip on June 16-23, which chronicled some of their efforts abroad. A team traveled to Southeast Asia, and on the trip, the bloggers met investigators, visited red-light districts and after care facilities, helped to work on actual cases and interviewed undercover investigators. "…my primary objective on this trip was not tourism. I went to do a job. I went to learn. I went to witness, observe, and document the many ways The Exodus Road is working in partnership with other organizations and government agencies to end slavery and trafficking for good. That included an introduction to the world of undercover investigations," said blogger Jamie Wright during the recent trip.

After aiding local police in a rescue of a victim of trafficking in Colorado this past year, the organization is now set to launch a "Trafficking Watch Program" in the U.S. With the aid of local authorities, the first trial will be held in Colorado Springs. The organization will help to train a small "army" of volunteers, who will do basic level surveillance reporting/gathering intelligence/tips for the local police/FBI. Initially, two local churches will supply the volunteers (with 60 volunteers to date). The launch will be supported by training events at the end of August in Colorado Springs. In October, the invitation only, "Second Annual Anti-Trafficking Intervention Conference" is slated to be held in Thailand. Last year's event attracted nearly 80 attendees, including the U.S. Department of Justice, the Thai Royal Police, FBI, a team of investigators from India, and the Thai Federal Authorities, DSI.

In other strategic moves, public figures are lending their resources to further the organization's work. The Exodus Road supporters include MLB player for the San Francisco Giants, Jeremy Affeldt, global Christian speaker and leader of Messenger International, Lisa Bevere, and the lead singer of Remedy Drive, David Zach.

"Human trafficking is everywhere. The mechanisms for slavery exist in nearly every country around the globe. Labor trafficking, sex slavery, indentured servitude- these are realities for an estimated 27 million brothers and sisters of ours around the world. Today. On our watch," said Laura Parker, co-founder, The Exodus Road, who oversees the organization with her husband, Matt.

In regard to the latest statistics related to its ongoing work, in only two short years (the first one spent largely in development), The Exodus Road has supported the rescues of 284 sex slaves through the work of the 56 undercover investigators they support. Representing over 25 organizations, they are proving the model that when people work together, they can accomplish so much more. With headquarters in Colorado, they support field offices in four cities in Southeast Asia and India, and have given away over 150 pieces of quality covert gear.

The Exodus Road is not a single investigative organization, but rather it is a network of surveillance teams and individuals, committed to fighting trafficking, one legal court case at a time. Currently, they are working with 56 operatives, representing thirteen different investigative organizations. While their main niche is in intervention work, they do have key aftercare organizations also represented in their coalition. The goal of their coalition is to bring as many people as possible around the table for the sake of the individual victim, and they are finding that it is this spirit of collaboration that is empowering more effective rescue, officials said.

Continuing to work in the spirit of collaboration, Matt has recently taken the position as coordinator for the newly formed Liberty Alliance, a coalition of counter-trafficking organizations with two leading partners: Freeland out of Bangkok and Liberty Asia out of Hong Kong.

With on-the-ground accountability in the form of field directors and reporting systems, The Exodus Road primarily funds key deficiencies common for those working in targeted intervention. They supply operational funding for cases, covert surveillance gear, investigator training events, networking support, operative care, and fund advocacy projects (repatriation expenses, aftercare transition, social worker salaries, etc.). Believing that technology is a critical tool in effectively gathering evidence necessary for arrests, The Exodus Road is also working with partners to provide field teams with modern equipment, including the upcoming development of a cyber-forensics lab. They also have developed key programs, like "Search and Rescue," where they connect donors with frontline teams by letting supporters fund one night of investigations for a certain team every month. Through this program and others like it, they consistently engage donors with the realities of fighting sex trafficking, both globally and at home.

NBC News recently reported that an estimated 40,000 victims were identified last year, according to the TIP (Trafficking in Persons) Report. It's also estimated that 100,000 children are victims of domestic trafficking right now and that 17,500 victims of trafficking were brought into the U.S. last year alone. Many cases still go undocumented.

About The Exodus Road
Founded by husband and wife, Matt and Laura Parker, The Exodus Road is a nonprofit organization that empowers freedom from sex slavery through covert investigation and rescue. The 501c3 organization operates internationally and domestically, working primarily in Southeast Asia, India, and the United States of America. With an empowering, life-changing mission, The Exodus Road finds teams already on the ground, doing the vital work of finding and freeing victims with local police and helps to fuel their work by providing covert gear, operational funding, training, and networking support. To find out more, or to help further the work of The Exodus Road, go to www.theexodusroad.com and http://www.facebook.com/theexodusroad.

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For more info on Remedy Drive visit the JFH Artists Database.