Listening to Pastor Obed’s interview that we filmed at the end of February 2014 moved our Production Assistant to tears! He is a husband and father whose passion for this issue drove him to quit his job to work on opening up an aftercare home in the Philadelphia area, the Mid-Atlantic Dream Center (http://www.midatlanticdreamcenter.org/), and to provide services to victim survivors. Pastor Obed is also the Chairman of the Executive Committee for the Montgomery County Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition (http://mcatpa.org/.) He feels very strongly about the legacy he wants to leave for his children about living a life that reflects caring for the oppressed and victimized in this world.

Thank you Pastor Ezra and Johanna for allowing us to film interviews at Riverside Community Church (http://www.riversideconnect.com/.)

The interview with Federal Prosecutor Michelle Morgan was fascinating, thought-provoking and very informative.

We watched her in action in 2013 when she was prosecuting the case, US vs. Justin Williams, where the sex trafficker had transported victim survivors across state lines and brutally assaulted those under his control.  One of the witnesses recanted her story during the second day of her testimony, sitting there shaking so hard we could see it all the way in the back of the court room. They brought additional charges against the trafficker for witness tampering – he had been able to speak to her, and it appeared, frightened her terribly.  This case was a great example of the strong partnership between the US Attorney’s Office and the FBI.  After a week of intense testimonies and seeing the evidence, we were thrilled that the jury returned a guilty verdict.

When we interviewed Ms. Morgan for the documentary, she had just wrapped up another major trafficking trial that ended in guilty verdicts for both defendants.

It is clear when you see Ms. Morgan in action and hear her talk about this issue with such passion that this is not just a job for her. She deeply cares about justice for the victim survivors!

It was so exciting to finally be able to film an interview with Shane, Robert Wood “Woody” and Adah from the Valley Youth House Synergy Project after a year and a half of pre-production planning, as they were among the first people that we were “chomping at the bit” to profile in the documentary.

Shane, Woody and Adah work tirelessly in Allentown and Bucks County to protect runaway youth and other homeless people from predators like traffickers and to help provide services and other items needed. Their dedication and passion is infectious!

Hearing the stories about some of the people that they have worked with who have been and are suspected of being trafficked was heart-breaking and makes us all the more driven to get this documentary out so that people will learn more about this issue and hopefully take action or support the work that people like Shane, Woody and Ada are doing.

Thank you Valley Youth House for letting us film there.

People may not realize that human trafficking crimes occur at truck stops across the US and certainly in PA, especially in the Harrisburg area, and that truck drivers are sometimes “johns” and sometimes transport victims across state lines.

People may not be aware as well that there are many heroes in the transportation industry who are working hard to raise awareness about this issue and fight against human trafficking that is occurring on our highways. It was a privilege to interview Lynn Kolb and Lead Chaplain Jake Wise from Transport for Christ’s (http://www.transportforchrist.org/) initiative, Exit 58, whose mission, “helping drivers on life’s highway,” fuels their passion to help truck drivers who may “buy sex” during the often long and lonely drives or somehow get involved in this crime to get the help and support that they need.

Lynn often spends time outside of her job speaking to groups and on radio shows about human trafficking. Jake, who is now Lead Chaplain, can relate to the stresses and temptations on the road as a truck driver himself.

For these two, their work for Exit 58 is not just a job but also a calling in the fight to abolish slavery on the roadways of our state!

It was a “full circle” moment to interview Dan Emr from Worthwhile Wear (http://worthwhilewear.org/), which “target[s] highly trafficked areas both internationally and domestically, and offer[s] women the opportunity to overcome two primary factors which are at the root of sex trafficking; poverty and lack of education.”  When I was trying to decide whether or not to quit my job to produce the documentary, Dan shared the story with me at an anti-trafficking event of his journey from the corporate world to putting it all on the line to help victim survivors who have been trafficked in India. His story encouraged me to step out in faith to produce “From Liberty to Captivity.”

Dan’s efforts have now extended into Bucks County with the opening of The Well aftercare home (http://thewellusa.com/) and the establishment of a store, Worthwhile Thrift & Freedom Boutique, where Worthwhile Wear merchandise is sold along with donated items to raise money for the organizations that he leads.  He is also very involved in Bucks Coalition Against Trafficking (http://www.novabucks.org/getinvolved/bcat/.)

His story is also a great example of the power of partnerships, as he and Congressman Fitzpatrick worked closely together to make The Well become a reality. Many people and local businesses also came together to volunteer their time, services and goods to complete renovations and furnish The Well.

It was a privilege to capture Dan’s inspiring story on film!

It was also an honor  to shoot Dan’s interview at the Continental Tavern in Yardley (http://www.contav.com/about), which is believed to be an Underground Railroad location for slaves who fled the south in their search for freedom. Thank you Frank Lyons for opening up your wonderful restaurant to us to film this important interview.

It is an honor to partner with notable historian Randall Miller, who is a professor at St. Joseph’s University (http://www.sju.edu/about-sju/faculty-staff/faculty-experts/randall-m-miller-phd) and on the board of Historians Against Slavery (http://www.historiansagainstslavery.org/main/) and has consulted on and appeared in other documentaries, including one produced by Frontline.

He is helping us “bridge” the past with the present (so it was very appropriate that we filmed his first interview next to one of PA’s famous red covered bridges.) In “From Liberty to Captivity,” he will help the viewing audience examine the parallels between slavery in the US in the 1800’s and now, and he will challenge us to leverage the lessons that we can learn from the past as we fight against slavery today.

It is fascinating to hear him tell stories of past abolitionists like Frederick Douglass and Lucretia Mott. People may not realize that they and others fought against insurmountable socioeconomic and cultural barriers to the abolition of slavery, and yet they saw great victories in their lifetimes.

We must carry on the fight! We are looking forward to continuing our partnership with Randall as a consulting historian to the documentary and to him sharing his thought-provoking insights with its viewers!

Quakers and Mennonites played a major role in the fight against slavery in the US in the 1800’s, so it was exciting to be able to film our interview with author, speaker, Rotarian, Quaker, and abolitionist Carol Metzker at the Fallowfield Meeting House.

Carol shared the moving story of her journey to India where she first got involved with this issue back to Chester and Philadelphia Counties where she has been helping victim survivors. She wrote about her story in her book, Facing the Monster: How One Person Can Fight Child Slavery.

Carol also founded Dress for a Good Cause (http://dressforagoodcause.com/), which transforms “gently worn dresses and jewelry into aid for survivors of human trafficking.”

Fallowfield Meeting House (http://westernquarterquakers.org/fallowfield/) has a rich history of supporting past and present abolitionist activities, and there are even abolitionists from the 1800’s who are buried on its grounds.

It was a great experience to be able to film this inspiring woman who is carrying on the Quaker legacy at such a historical location!

How would you react to the voice inside of you urging you to dedicate your life to helping sex trafficking survivors if you had no training to do so, knew nothing about running a specialized residential aftercare home and had no obvious financial means? Many might run as far away as possible from such a daunting challenge. Kim Checkeye braved all of these obstacles and more, which resulted in the Truth Home in the Lehigh Valley.

The Truth Home is a sister organization to the Truth for Women Center (http://truthforwomencenter.org/purpose/) and My Sister’s Closet, and is based on the well-respected Wellspring Living aftercare model in Georgia, providing long-term housing and comprehensive services, support and care to sex trafficking survivors.

Kim gave a moving and honest interview about the reality of sex trafficking in the Lehigh Valley, her heart-breaking and heart-warming experiences working with victim survivors and her personal journey to opening the Truth Home!  After hearing Kim describe women survivors going from being severely traumatized and feeling despair and fearful, to being filled with hope and a sense of meaningful purpose for their futures when they get help achieving their personal goals, one can appreciate the gratitude and joy that Kim feels for having not ignored that voice inside of her.

Not only have these remarkable survivors’ lives been transformed, but it’s obvious that Kim’s life has been too.

Thank you Kim L., Pastor Dave and everyone at East Swamp church (http://www.eastswamp.org/) for allowing us to film her inspirational interview there. (The donuts were wonderful.) And thank you Kurt for helping us as a Production Assistant.

Mark Houck and the organization that he founded, The King’s Men (http://thekingsmen.org/), have been supporting community efforts to shut down sex-oriented businesses that experts say can lead to prostitution and other crimes such as sex and drug trafficking and robbery.

People may not realize that zoning regulations or other local laws may be in violation when these types of businesses, such as strip clubs, open up or operate in their communities, and that shutting these businesses down may be as simple as enforcing or passing local laws.

Although Mark and those he works with have been successful in closing down several sex-oriented businesses throughout Bucks County, these efforts have not been easy, even resulting in a major lawsuit. Research has shown how addictive porn can be, which can help drive viewers to patronize sex-oriented businesses or to purchase sex from prostitutes and those who are being trafficked.

The King’s Men organization also works to raise awareness about the downward spiral porn can take men on, which can lead to personal destruction and victimization of those who are enslaved. Mark knows this all too well, having been first innocently exposed, as many young people are today, to porn. He courageously shared his painful journey with us from addiction to recovery and the hope he has for men like him.

It was powerful for us to hear his story and visit the sites of more than one location The King’s Men has shut down and another they are working on. In fact, at one location where we filmed, the owner of a gas station came out and told us how happy he was that the sex-oriented business near him was closed.

Thank you Mark for your honesty and for letting us capture on film your inspiring and brave fight for our communities!

And thank you to the owner of Caitlyn and Cody’s Diner (http://caitlynandcodysdiner.com/) for letting us film on your premises, which was once the location of a sex-oriented business.

Debbie Colton discovered that more than one child that she and her husband were foster parents for had been victims of sex trafficking, and that changed her life forever. Dealing with the level of severe trauma her victimized foster children experienced sent Debbie on a journey to learn more about what human trafficking is and the complicated and difficult road to help and healing that survivors can face.

So what did Debbie do once she learned more about sex trafficking? She and her husband took the insurance claim funds they received from a devastating fire to a home on their property and created Oasis of Hope (http://oasisofhopeusa.org/), an aftercare home for minors near the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania. Debbie shared with us the trials and tribulations of trying to open up an aftercare home for minors, and she lit up when she described the man who, because of his passion for this issue, coordinated the help of nearly 200 volunteers who came from across the country to complete the construction on the home.

Debbie can now see the good that came out of the shock and heartbreak of discovering what happened to her foster children and the fire that destroyed her family’s home, literally “beauty from ashes.”

It was such a great experience to spend time with Debbie and her husband on the serene grounds of and in the warm and inviting home which is truly an oasis of hope!