Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/893386
52 | SignatureMT how you earn it. Either do it or get out!" Desperation, anxiety and hopelessness crashed together in Kelly's brain as she made a decision that most people can't fathom even being faced with. When he was done with her, the stranger le, but the course of Kelly's immediate future had been set. Turning 8 – 10 tricks a day for a pimp that appeared from the shadows aer she'd been sucked into the life, le her exhausted, physically scarred, emotionally wrecked and feeling invisible. A typical muggy, August day in ATL found Kelly walking the streets alone, without a clue that she was on a collision course with a rescue team comprised of folks from Atlanta and Montana. "Look at her!", whispered the outreach team leader, Wendy. A street smart 20 something with a passion for the hurting people of the inner city and a heart for God, Wendy has been combaing homelessness and rescuing girls from trafficking rings with the Atlanta Dream Center & Out of Darkness ministries for seven years. Being on the streets every day has earned her credibility and familiarity with those that work it and call it home, and she'd never seen Kelly before. As such, Kelly was anything but invisible to her and she eagerly, but organically reached out to her. Ravaged by five unimaginable years in the life, amazingly Kelly was willing to trust, eager for the safe place that Wendy offered and was moved into a Safe House within hours. According to the International Labour Organization, Kelly's story isn't rare but her rescue is; with human trafficking today generating over $150 billion and enslaving 21 million people worldwide, traffickers and pimps have a vested interest in keeping people trapped. Despite the massive economic impact and the millions of lives shaered, many Americans overlook the encroachment of this modern slave trade within the United States by assuming it is a "third world problem". Unfortunately, this broadly held misconception works against the 300,000 children that were trafficked for sex in America in 2015 (A.G. Tim Fox), potentially delaying badly needed manpower and funds to rescue girls like Kelly. Stories like Kelly's are part of the fuel that stokes the passionate work of Great Falls Police Department (GFPD) Detective Jesse Slaughter. A 16-year veteran of the GFPD, Jesse has been the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) investigator since 2011. A family man with children of his own, Detective Slaughter is deeply invested in his ICAC role and has expanded it to include the pursuit of sex traffickers in Central Montana. Jesse claims, "e sex trade has always been a slave trade, even in the Old West. And it has only goen A recognized, crucial step to preventing enslavement in inner-city America is showing love and value to those deemed vulnerable to traffickers. The Atlanta Dream Center has been pouring into the lives of children for over a decade in simple ways such as the Metro Kids outreach portrayed below. An all volunteer approach pairs people willing to give of their time with kiddos from the housing projects who want to hang out, do crafts, participate in impromptu sports, or rough house on the play- ground while building relationships with adults that care about them.