Today, I want to feature "Made In a Free World". I guess you could call it an organization or a ministry, but I like the description of "disruptive network" because of the way they connect individuals, groups, businesses, etc. to disrupt slavery and spread freedom.
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| Justin Dillon |
I heard the founder, Justin Dillon, speak at the Free Austin summit hosted by Allies Against Slavery in October 2013. He is a creative, musical artist that has harnessed some energy and resources to do impressive things in the fight against human trafficking and slave labor.
As a newbie to the world of the modern day abolition movement, it is sometimes confusing to understand the real problem and even more difficult to realize the best solutions. What I appreciate about Made In a Free World is the job they do of breaking down the problem into understandable parts, and then giving people practical steps to make a difference.
Please consider checking out their additional website resource, Slavery Footprint. Here you can take a survey to find the answer to a most uncomfortable question: How many slaves work for you? I have done this, and I will be the first to confess that I have too many working for me. (I know one is too many, but I have many more than that, and I don't even drink coffee!)
If you are like me, then there is a part of you that would rather not do things like this. It is easier for me to live in denial about some things. It is better to not know. "Ignorance is bliss," they say. But I can guarantee you "they" aren't slaves.
I have come to accept that I won't be able to change the world with just knowledge, but neither will I help it with guilt. So, feeling guilty is not the aim. My hope is to spread awareness. With a growing awareness comes more options. It is what offers us a vision of freedom for more people than have it now. Information alone changes nothing, but nothing changes without information. So, let's just start there.
I have already mentioned this organization in posts and tweets before, but I want to take a minute to really emphasize and promote a group here in the Austin area, Allies Against Slavery.
(Note: Their website is currently being updated and should be unveiled this month. For now, I suggest just going to their site and subscribing to their monthly newsletter. That is the "baby step": just subscribe to the newsletter!)
The mission of Allies is to "develop community-based networks that build slave-free cities." I have been to four different events related to Allies, including the Free Austin Summit in October 2013 and a couple of their monthly meetings. Each event has been highly informative and inspiring.
It is awesome to see the diversity of people that come together simply united by the common passion to end slavery in the world around us.
As someone fairly new to this abolition journey, I am finding that Allies is so beneficial to me, which is why I am so strongly recommending it to others in and around Austin.
I see it as a practical way to be engaged with this movement.
Allies are connecting resources to real needs.
They have relationships with local law enforcement.
They are collaborating with a wide range of stakeholders in the community, including faith-based groups.
They assist with after-care for survivors of human trafficking as they partner with Refugee Services of Texas (RST).
They are educating people to proactively stop harm to humans.
Allies is working on growing and organizing their network. Upcoming opportunities soon to be available are "justice parties" (ways to engage small groups in human trafficking awareness) and book clubs. I will share more as I find out about these avenues.
The next meeting is Tuesday, March 18 at Space12.
