Walk with us Out of the Darkness in awareness and support of victims of Human Trafficking. Soroptimist International of Bend is sponsoring the walk on April 29 in downtown Bend beginning at the Bend Church /United Methodist (680 NW Bond – upper parking lot).
At 9am, J Bar J’s Domestic Victims of Human Trafficking Program will speak about local news and services provided to trafficking survivors. Their program assists current and past victims of human trafficking (adults and minors) in gaining access to the tools and services they need to escape exploitation and rebuild their lives.
According to data from the In Our Backyard web site (http://inourbackyard.org) , between 244,000 and 325,000 American youth are considered at risk for sexual exploitation and an estimated 199,000 incidents of sexual exploitation of minors occur each year in the United States. Human Trafficking includes not only sex trafficking, but also child labor, domestic servitude, forced labor and bonded labor.
The walk will begin at 9:30am after the speaker. Proceed on Bond to Franklin, turn left to walk alongside Drake Park and onto Galveston. After crossing the river, the walk will turn right on Harmon, continue to the wooden bridge at Mirror Pond to cross the river again. Walking through the park, the route continues up Franklin to Wall, turn left walking to Oregon. Crossing Wall, walk on Oregon to Bond and turn right. Continue down Bond and to the church. The distance is approximately 2 miles, is an easy walk.
Please check www.sibend.orgor call 503-519-5051 if there are any questions.
[Since 1943, Soroptimist International of Bend (SI Bend), has been providing 70 plus years of community support serving women and girls of Central Oregon. SI Bend is the longest, continuously running women’s service organization in Bend, OR, offering educational awards to local students, plus, supporting Bethlehem Inn, Head Start, Kids Center, Meals on Wheels, Grandma’s House, and more. Internationally, SI Bend’s outreach programs “Bras from Bend” assists’ women rescued from human trafficking especially from the sex slave trade through the campaign “Free the Girls.” For more information, please contact www.sibend.org.]
