NO MEETING TONIGHT

TONIGHT'S U-ACT MEETING HAS BEEN CANCELED DUE TO SNOW.
Please check back for further information about current and new initiatives and March meetings.

NEXT Meeting- Monday, February 15th

This coming Monday, February 15th, U-ACT will be meeting at 7 p.m. at Common Ground Church on 46th and Illinois. There will be NO 6 p.m. meeting this month.

If you have any questions or need directions, please contact uact.indy@yahoo.com

Congressional TIP Report Petition

Please read and sign our petition to ask Congress to include the U.S. in the 2010 TIP Report:

PETITION- CLICK HERE

Please pass this link along to others to help encourage Congress to include national statistics and information in the TIP Report, which are vital for the stoppage of human trafficking within our own country.

 

January 18, 2010 Meeting notes

The first U-ACT meetings of 2010 were wonderful, and we have many people to thank for that! First of all, we would like to extend our thanks to Carleen Miller of Exodus Refugee and the Julian Center for speaking at our 6pm safehouse meeting! Carleen gave us all some excellent information about her experience with human trafficking in Indianapolis, as well as a few new local volunteer opportunities. We would also like to thank Sharon Hedegard, Jessica Thornburg, Glenis Bonano, and Julia Spangler for their excellent work in preparing U-ACT materials, logos, and our newest resource, the U-ACT Human Trafficking "kit" for our 7pm training meeting! You all are amazing!

Also, please remember to help spread the word: we are no longer able to send out mass emails on our uact.indy account. So, for the time being, please check the blog and/or Facebook page to stay up-to-date with U-ACT info! We can still send and receive individual emails on the uact.indy account, but we cannot reply in mass.
Thank you!

UPCOMING EVENTS:
**The first ever U-ACT Free2Walk event to benefit Not For Sale will be held Saturday April 24, 2010 from 9:30am-11:30am at Friedens UCC. It will be an outdoor, 3 mile walk. Check back soon for more information about sponsorship forms and registration!

NEW OPPORTUNITIES:
1. Serve on one of the Julian Center's new human trafficking outreach teams!
**If you're interested in learning more about the outreach teams, please email Glenis Bonano at gbonano@juliancenter.org.
2. It is our goal to empower U-ACT members to spread awareness about human trafficking in our community. We realize that some of you may not know where to begin when presenting trafficking information to a group of community members, so we've created U-ACT human trafficking "kits"! Each kit contains three powerpoint presentations, a presenter's guide, and lots of informative paperwork that can be copied and handed out to your audiences. So pick up a kit at the February U-ACT meeting, contact a local business manager (hospitals, emergent care centers, doctors' offices, restaurants, etc.) and ask to schedule a presentation time! You can use the "kit" as a point of reference, and add film clips or other handouts to personalize the presentation.

FYI: INSIGHTS from guest speaker Carleen Miller:
-human trafficking is still considered to be a "new crime" in Indiana
-local service agencies (such as the Julian Center) must partner closely with law enforcement to ensure that the best care possible is given to victims
-U.S. domestic trafficking victims are mainly youth (18 years and younger)
-she feels that Indiana does not yet have an extensive foreign or domestic trafficking problem, or if we do, it is largely unnoticed
-large events, such as the Indy 500 and the Superbowl, tend to generate trafficking

Sarah and Laura
co-founders, U-ACT

Congressional Support for Trafficking Victims

Last month, Congress passed a bill that includes increased funding for human trafficking victims and those who serve them. To read about the specifics of the Congressional appropriations, please read the following article:

"Congress Agrees to Fund Crucial Trafficking Victims' Services"

Next Meeting- January 18th

U-ACT will be meeting next Monday, January 18th, at 6 p.m. During the first hour, we will continue our discussion of involvement and work in our Indianapolis community. Also, we will have a guest speaker this month- Carleen Miller from the Julian Center and Exodus Refugee. At 7 p.m., Mrs. Miller will lead a training session for anyone interested in learning how to formally present the issue of trafficking to the community.

These meetings will take place at Friedens United Church of Christ church building (8300 S. Meridian St., Indianapolis, IN, 46217).

If you need more information, please contact uact.indy@yahoo.com and one of our co-founders will be in touch soon.

NO December Meeting

Attention U-ACT members (and others interested in attending a U-ACT meeting):

There will be NO meeting this month. Our regular 3rd Monday of the month meetings will resume in January.

Thank you! Have a Merry Christmas!