Project Hope.

      As everyone grows older, they become faced with the ever so difficult challenge of finding out what they are supposed to do with the rest of their life. Maybe it is being a doctor, maybe an astronaut. Hey, maybe even a video game tester. For me, I find peace in assisting those in need. For years, I have wanted to become a photo journalist and travel all around the world. Capturing beauty, hope, and faith in the midst of horrible occurrences such as genocide, war,  and poverty. My heart has been giving me this presentiment that I am supposed to be in India, to journal about the horrible crime of sex trafficking. A whole world in and of itself. Although India is still catching hold of my heart, I feel like another option is coming over the horizon. Maybe I should get to the point, what do you think?    Furthermore,  I would especially enjoy being a part of Project Hope here at the Dream Center.

     Project Hope is in better words: a residential program that is designed to rescue, rehabilitate, and restore adult female survivors of the most insidious criminal industry in the world; Sex trafficking. Victims are subjected to force, fraud, or coercion for the purposes of forced labor or sexual exploitation. "Project Hope is designed to restore these women through guidance, education" This entails basic literacy and job skills training, counseling, legal aid and assistance with becoming a U.S. citizen for victims that were smuggled here for the purposes of enslavement. The program offers these services as well as clothing, healthcare, meals, and shelter in a loving, safe and supportive environment at an undisclosed location. The goal of Project Hope is to fully restore victims so that they can be functional, healthy contributing members of society.  

   The Dream center provides internships under this wonderful program and many others that are changing LA. This caught my eye. As a small scruffy man explained the internship possibilities to about 100 teenagers, some sat in silence, some napped, some joked around, but I became interested. Very interested. They offer 4, 8, or 12 month internships, and I think after I graduate, this is where I think I will be. Sitting in the same chair I am in now, still blogging about the greatness of the Dream Center. 

   A group of our students met a man who was a male prostitute that was enslaved since he was 11. His mother sold him off to a pimp because her boyfriend or husband needed money for alcohol. He was broken. Simple as that. He decided to join the Dream Center discipleship group. An intense year long program that saves the lives of many many people coming from the streets. 

  This simple and short story transformed my heart, and made me want to be involved in Project Hope that much more. To save lives like this mans.