Three senior freight industry executives have launched a charity to help survivors of child sex trafficking to rebuild their lives.
Sharon Siar, VP and CFO of Talon Freight Services, Nicole Glenn, founder and CEO of Candor Logistics Management, and Kristy Knichel, president and owner of Knichel Logistics, were “horrified by the large number of child sex trafficking survivors who struggle to recover without access to the mental health counselling they need to move past the trauma of being trafficked”.
In response, they have formed Gift of Freedom, in Texas. The state has the second-highest reported cases of human trafficking in the US, with, at any given time, researchers believe, some 313,000 people being trafficked in Texas, of which 79,000 are children.
The women executives explained that after being rescued, children need help to deal with the trauma. Gift of Freedom partners with organisations and counsellors who can provide specialist care and rehabilitation, enabling the children to rebuild their lives.
Ms Siar said: “Numerous organisations save trafficked children from their abductors and abusers. However, after a rescue there are not enough facilities or mental health professionals available to provide counselling services. As a result, many victims return to the streets, because it’s all that they know.”
As well as helping provide expert care and funding, Gift of Freedom works with law enforcement and government entities, lawyers, social workers and child advocacy groups.
Why not make it your company’s chosen Christmas charity this year?
For more information and to donate, visit Gift of Freedom’s website at www.giftoffreedom.org
