The event was covered by local WCTN News.

Read entire ONN News Article:

http://www.10tv.com/live/content/onnnews/stories/2010/05/06/story_human_trafficking_promotable.html?type=rss&cat=&sid=102

Tune in to DAYSTAR at 6:30am, 2:30pm, or 8:00pm and WSFJ-51 (TBN) correct at 10:00am or 4:30pm.

*We believe that human trafficking is a worldwide problem, and takes the cooperation of concerned citizens at every level. Gracehaven partners with many organizations and churches with varying belief systems across the country to raise awareness around the horrors of human trafficking. You can click here to view our statement of faith.

This morning, the 700 Club aired “Sex Trade: Innocence Lost in America’s Heartland ” Link to entire article here.

“When it opens later this year, Gracehaven will break new ground. Not literally, but nationally. No other Christian-based shelter like it exists.

Gracehaven founder Dr. Jeffrey Barrows is also helping to oversee four similar up-and-coming ministries across the country through the newly formed Christian Trafficking Shelter Association.

“There’s just been a larger uprising, especially in the faith-based community, of people realizing ‘Hey, wait a minute. This is going on all around us and we need to rise up and do something about it,’” Barrows said.

That’s the challenge – what to do.

Gracehaven will provide residents 24/7 care for a minimum of nine months. It will offer individual counseling and training in life skills. But there’s a price to pay for breaking new ground. There is next to no research to help develop curriculum, education, and programming. Little has been done to understand the best way to rehabilitate the victims of trafficking.”

http://www.fox8.com/videobeta/?watchId=26edab4b-a5de-41a9-bfb9-1fbbbda03552

http://www.gracehavenhouse.org/?p=1474 Child Sex Trafficking Victim Tells Her Story
October 22, 2009
TULSA, OK — Children trafficked as sex slaves is the world’s second largest criminal enterprise, according to the state department. Social workers and law enforcement have been meeting in Tulsa to look for solutions.

Activists say Oklahoma is in a prime location for child sex traffickers, thanks to two interstates that cross the state. They hope residents recognize the growing problem and step up to put an end to it.
Read Full Story

Human trafficking victims address UN event as Ban calls for broad-based action
22 October 2009 – The United Nations hosted a special event at its New York Headquarters today for the victims and survivors of human trafficking, with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issuing a broad-based call to action for States to tackle the root causes and ensure swift justice against the perpetrators.

“Our fight against human trafficking is guided by three Ps: prevention, protection and prosecution,” he said in an opening address at the event at which four survivors bore living witness with accounts of their own horrific plight, including a girl who was abducted at age 14 by Ugandan rebels and kept as a sex slave for eight years.
Read Full Story

By Denise Yost
Managing Editor, nbc4i.com
Published: August 5, 2009

COLUMBUS, Ohio—Central Ohioans may feel removed from human trafficking, but sex slavery is happening in Ohio every day.

FAST FACTS:

• Ohio ranks fifth in the nation for this underground crime, most notable due to the state’s highway system.
• Trafficking puts between 100,000 and 300,000 U.S. children at risk each year.
• Human trafficking is the world’s third largest illegal industry, bringing in about $36 billion annually.
• The illegal industry claims 12 million sex slaves worldwide.

But there is good news for victims of the crime: a house will soon be available to help women in Central Ohio get back on their feet.

A worn split rail fence borders a piece of property in Northwest Columbus, and it could bring peace to young women worn down from a difficult life.

“My goal right now is to have it open and have the girls by July 1, 2010,“ said Jeff Barrows, executive director of Gracehaven.

Until now, the home for teens exploited in the commercial sex trades had no home.

“They experience trauma. They experience pain. If they’re ready to come out, there’s a lot of help we can give these girls,“ Barrows said.

Within the last month, Gracehaven bought a 9.5-acre property, and the 4,000 square foot home that sits on it will become a group home for up to ten girls who were abused and used in the sex trade.

There are only three homes like Gracehaven in the country.

Barrows admitted that the house needs work, including dismantling a sauna and removing a former Jacuzzi room, but the transformation of the house will mirror the eventual transformation of the home’s residents.