Problem statement:
People who have been or are currently being sex trafficked are often arrested and charged with criminal activity. There are few resources available to those who are currently experiencing trafficking here in Kansas City, and even fewer that recognize the human dignity of these individuals.
Design Questions:
How can we help those who are being or were trafficked feel human again?
How can we help those who have been or were TRAFFICKED feel confident?
Solution:
"Give Us a hand" fun and crazy nail day
We decided to host a fun and crazy nail day for the Sion community on May 2nd as a model to share with other schools so that they can host similar events in the future. We have also partnered with Emily Rhoden to collect donations at Burns & McDonnell. This year, Relentless Outreach and Pursuit is also Burns and Mac charity of choice. Emily is helping us send out the donation information to the women who are part of the NOW communication chain.
Education
We invited Lee Gibson, the founder and executive director of relentless pursuit outreach and recovery, to come talk to sion students during their lunch/study period about why Relentless Pursuit was built and how the sion community can support their work. This created an opportunity for Christine's place to now be an option for senior service projects and regular service hours for future students.
Meet the team
Isabella Cherry I am an affectionate, adventurous, and ambitious person. I am passionate about helping my community especially minor survivors of sex trafficking. This year I learned that 25% of people experiencing sex trafficking are minors and Children's Mercy sees about 300-400 patients each year that have been and are being trafficked. Human trafficking can happen anywhere in KC, places such as Hotels by KCI Airport, Arrowhead and Kauffman Stadium, Metcalf and 435 around the convention center. In our city alone there are 80 to 90 massage businesses that act like fronts.
I have been fortunate enough to meet with a survivor at Christine's Place. She stated that Christine's Place has been the best thing that has happened to her and that their needs to be more places like it. Now just imagine a minor going through sex trafficking then getting back into society without any help or resources not even a place to stay. This issue is so important to me, because we think about the basic needs of adults, but we often don't pay enough attention to minors or to the things that women who are being trafficked might need to help them feel human and worthy of receiving support and services from places like Christine's Place. I ask that our community research more into this issue and choose to help provide more support for organizations like Relentless Pursuit Outreach and Recovery and Human Trafficking Training Center. |
KAmryn McKibben I’m Kamryn and I currently attend Notre Dame de Sion as a member of the class of 2022.
While studying in one of my classes on how health care is not equal for every race, I began to wonder why. I see more and more African American mothers dying during childbirth due to the lack of health care providers helping them. I see Hispanics being turned away or not given proper health care because of their ethnicity. As I read the graphs and articles, I became angrier and angrier with the healthcare system. I’ve heard stories from family members and friends of nurses not believing people of color can feel the pain and not doing anything to help. The system is broken for people of color while in health care supervision. I want to be a part of the change to ensure quality healthcare for everyone because everyone deserves the same treatment no matter what race. This project, of creating equal care, has become a passion of mine and something I look forward to changing. I want people to feel safe while in the hospital or at a doctor's office. The healthcare setting should not be a place where personal biases get in the way of quality healthcare. This is a topic that needs to be heard more by health care providers to ensure the same care for everyone. and needs to be changed fast before we lose more minorities to the health care system. This is also my main driving point on wanting to get into the healthcare field after college. I want people to trust me when I have to take care of them or a loved one in the hospital. We lack nurses and doctors of color which may be a reason for the inequality. A study from the Association of American Medical Colleges showed that 5.0% of African Americans, 5.8% of Hispanics, and 56.2% of whites make up the healthcare field. I believe I can be a part of the change in the healthcare system. The patients have to trust the people there for them and with this inequality of care happening the trust is not there. I can be a part of putting trust back into the health care system not only by this project but by being in the healthcare world myself. |