Price of Life NYC

The New York City Price of Life Invitational scheduled for fall 2013 is a city-wide, campus-based, faith-inspired campaign addressing human trafficking in all its forms, sponsored by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, World Vision, and a diverse coalition of organizations.

Posts tagged Field Notes

Jul 11

Leaders in Action - the New York State Anti-Trafficking Coalition

The classy, polished office on the 40th floor of the Met Life building was already filled with intense discussion when I arrived alongside the Price of Life team. Dorchen Leidholt, of Sanctuary for Families New York (SFFNY), led an earnest group (all women except for myself and two others), as they reviewed a recent protest and press release, as well as plans for the next term’s lobbying efforts. I recognized several faces, including Norma Ramos of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW), and Kathleen Slocum, co-founder of Restore NYC and staff attorney for SFFNY.

Sitting in an office with 20 representatives from different groups that compiled the New York Anti-Trafficking Coalition (NYATC), some of my friends back home might note the drastic change from my typical environment. Two weeks earlier I’d been sitting in a crowded San Antonio apartment as my closest friends gathered to see me off for the summer. That gathering- with gym short clad college students eating vanilla cake because fair-trade chocolate is too expensive- is a stark contrast to the white collar room I now found myself in.

My arrival in New York City was six months in the making, as I had learned about the Price of Life internship through New York City Urban Project (NYCUP) right around New Year’s. NYCUP is a hub for several different poverty-fighting projects in the NYC, one of which being the Price of Life internship that is laying the foundation for a Fall 2013 city-wide, campus-centered, faith based campaign focusing on human trafficking. Considering my personal commitment to fight human trafficking in every way possible, this was a unique and valuable opportunity.

Read the rest of the account of the NYSATC meeting by Price of Life: NYC summer intern Eddie Knight, on the Field Notes page of our website.

Jul 10

Restore NYC & Price of Life- A force for freedom

Recently the Price of Life team met with one of New York’s most vital players in the fight against sex trafficking. After a day of planning for events, such as an artist round table discussion happening on July 16th, and executing intricate presentation for potential partners, we gathered for a memorable meeting.

The meeting was with Jimmy Lee, the executive director of Restore NYC, a nonprofit that provides holistic aftercare for foreign-born sex trafficked survivors. Founder Faith Huckel “diligently led the building of Restore from the ground up and created a movement of awareness of the realities of the modern-day slave trade in New York City,” as stated on their website. Needless to say it was an honor to speak with the now head of Restore after learning the incredible programs they are offering to mainly Korean, Chinese, and Latina women.

Read the rest of the account of the meeting with Jimmy Lee, by Price of Life: NYC Summer Intern, Maria Dora Berruti, on the Field Notes page of our website.

May 7

Hofstra Students Tackle Human Trafficking

By Jainnie Hackman, Hofstra InterVarsity Staff

Imagine walking on your campus and seeing life sized cages with your fellow classmates in them duct-taped at the mouth and hands shackled. What would you think? What would you say? At Hofstra University, many passers-by were caught unaware but struck with a very captivating image. Some were horrified and rose to support the cause while others in anger to what the signs said stomped away. What exactly did these cages represent? Why such a drastic visual?

In January 2012, the Hofstra InterVarsity leadership team met for their winter planning days. They spent time praying, discussing and brainstorming ideas on where they thought God was leading them in the spring semester. After much thought, they decided to spend a month dedicating their meetings focused on the hurting things and people all around us. They decided to call the theme of the month, “For the least of these…” taken from the Bible verse in Matthew 25:40. One of the topics they wanted to raise awareness for was human trafficking.

A group of 7 Hofstra IV students supported by the larger fellowship met weekly to plan out details on how they would bring about such a devastating issue to light on their campus. One of the students, Maria Berruti, suggested they make life sized cages. Each cage would depict an aspect of human trafficking- sex labor, human labor and pornography. The cages were carefully made with PVC pipes, welded together and then painted. After gathering facts from reliable sources such as the Department of Labor and International Justice Mission, they carefully wrote these statistics on boards that would accompany the cages. Their next step was to ask the school for campus space to place these cages.

Read the rest.