Category Archives: Poverty

January 28, 2024 · 1:00 am

Enslaved 2024 – Part 3

File:Human Trafficking.jpg

Human Trafficking, concept image by Tapas Kumar Halder, Author Tapas Kumar Halder, (CC BY-SA 4.0 International)

We conclude our discussion of the blight of human trafficking with suggestions as to how the public can prevent and respond to this profound evil [1].

What You Can Do

Concerned as they may be, most people are overwhelmed by the magnitude of human trafficking — at a loss for how they can make a difference.  But there are things the average person can do [2]:

  • Become educated about human trafficking, and stay alert to the situations people may be experiencing.
  • Share information about human trafficking with family, friends, neighbors, business associates, and fellow bloggers.
  • Support local anti-trafficking organizations, either financially or by volunteering.  Pro bono attorneys are especially needed.  An online directory of community organizations is available here:  https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en/find-local-services.
  • Buy with care.  Consider where (and by whom) food, clothing, jewelry, electronics, and other items were produced.  An extensive list of items made by forced labor or child labor can be found here:  https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods.
  • Get help for a family member, co-worker, student, tenant, patient, or someone else in need.  The National Human Trafficking Hotline https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en/contact provides free confidential support, 24/7.  Call 1-888-373-7888 or text HELP to 233733 (BEFREE).
  • Partner with the schools, healthcare providers, and other institutions and professionals serving those experiencing human trafficking.  Together with them, craft student safety programs for children at risk, fair workplace protocols, and ethical procurement practices at places of employment.  Work for safe and affordable housing, and accessible healthcare.
  • Speak out.  Inquire what elected representatives are doing about human trafficking.  Urge that trafficking be made a priority.

Continue reading →

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January 21, 2024 · 1:00 am

Enslaved 2024 – Part 2

As discussed in Part 1 of this series, human trafficking is the form slavery takes today [1].

Red Flags

The red flags for trafficking include the following [2]:

A.  In the Workplace, Generally

  • A job offer that seems to be too good to be true.
  • A job offer that requires a move far from family and friends, where the recruiter or prospective employer declines to provide detailed information about the job.
  • A prospective employer who refuses to provide a signed contract, or asks employees to sign a contract in a language they cannot read.
  • A prospective employer who collects fees from a potential employee for the mere “opportunity” to work at a particular job.
  • Promised pay withheld by a recruiter or employer after work has been done.
  • Dangerous work conditions without training, adequate breaks, safety gear, or other protections.
  • Inhumane living conditions provided by an employer.
  • Monitoring by an employer of all interaction with others.
  • Isolation by an employer from support systems.
  • Pressure by an employer to stay on the job.
  • Control by an employer of a passport and identity documents.
  • Threats of deportation or other harm by an employer.

Continue reading →

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January 14, 2024 · 1:00 am

Enslaved 2024 – Part 1

File:ValentinGalochkin 1965 Slavery.jpg

“Slavery – A Study in Marble” by Valentin Galochkin, Author Valentin Galochkin, (PD)

The White House has proclaimed January as Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month [1].

Scope

Over 40 million people are trafficked worldwide [2A].  Women and girls constitute about 71%  of all human trafficking victims [2B].  In fact, one in every four victims of modern slavery is a child [2C].

Geographic Distribution

Trafficking centers around areas with international travel hubs (airports and seaports), access to highways, seasonal work, a hospitality industry (often associated with tourism), a sharp disparity between rich and poor, and a large immigrant population [3A][8].

A. Overseas

According to the International Labor Organization, Asia and the Pacific region have the highest incidence of forced labor and forced marriages [5].

B. United States

In our country, experts estimate that there are over 199,000 instances of human trafficking (which includes sex trafficking) annually [4A].

The top ten states for trafficking in 2022 were Mississippi, Nevada, Missouri, Nebraska, Florida, Texas, California, Arkansas, Oregon, and Georgia [2D]. Continue reading →

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October 15, 2023 · 1:00 am

Murdered Children and the Indian Child Welfare Act

File:Carlisle pupils.jpg

Pupils at Carlisle Native Industrial School, Pennsylvania (PD)

WARNING:  Graphic Images

From 1869 to the 1960s, hundreds of thousands of Native American children were removed from their parents and placed at boarding schools operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs [1][2].

There the children were forbidden to use their tribal names, speak their tribal languages, wear their tribal clothing, or practice their tribal religions.  Discipline was generally harsh.  Emotional, physical, and sexual abuse were not unknown.

Though perhaps well intentioned, this cultural genocide (now termed ethnocide) was inexcusable [3][4A].  The trauma to these children was incalculable [4B].

Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA)

The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) was created as a reaction to such forced assimilation [5][6A][9A].  The purpose of the ICWA was to protect the cultural identity and heritage of Indian tribes [9B].

The ICWA mandates that the state pursue the best interests of the tribe, rather than that of the individual child, in cases of abuse.  Officials must place an abused or neglected child with race-matched foster and adoptive families [6B].

Published guidelines by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, in fact, indicate that child welfare officials should not consider the best interests of the child in placement – irrespective of poverty, substance abuse, or other “non-conforming social behavior” such as crime in the home [9C].

For any child living on a reservation, the tribe has exclusive jurisdiction of child welfare cases [9D]. Continue reading →

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September 3, 2023 · 1:00 am

A Dumpster and the Value of Life

File:Olivia-Rae balloon release debris - 2018-08-28 - Andy Mabbett - 04.jpgBalloon release, Author Andy Mabbett (CC BY-SA 4.0 International)

WARNING:  Graphic Images

The body of a 12 y.o. boy was found this week in a dumpster in West Philadelphia — a destitute and poverty stricken corner of the City of Brotherly Love [1A].

The boy, Hezekiah “Hezzy” Bernard, had been shot in the head.  His body was wrapped in plastic before being discarded with the trash, at a public housing complex.  The death has been formally ruled a homicide.

“He lit up a room. He was always dancing…He was teachable, he wanted to be mentored and he was joining our new job training program.”

–Pastor Aaron Campbell of LevelUp, a Christian non-profit which serves Philadelphia’s disadvantaged youth [1B][2]

Hundreds in the community gathered for a balloon release to honor the young boy.  But he was never reported missing by family or friends, and the challenge for police will be to identify his killer.

Witness cooperation with law enforcement investigations is notoriously difficult to obtain in Philadelphia.   This stems from a combination of misplaced loyalty, police distrust, and the constant fear of retribution.

Was this boy, himself, the witness to a crime?  Was he shot to punish some family member?  Was he a victim of mistaken identity?   Was his death pay-back for some imagined slight to a stranger?  Was he simply at the wrong place, at the wrong time — collateral damage in yet another unreported shooting?

Life is cheap in what these days is politely called the “inner city”.  Children are murdered and left in dumpsters.

But this is not how God sees it.

“Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity, and honor” (Prov. 21: 21).

God is the source of all life.  Through Him we can have life, now and in eternity.  That is our comfort in affliction (Ps. 119: 50).

—

[1A and 1B]  Philadelphia Inquirer, “The body of a 12-year-old boy was found in a dumpster in West Philadelphia, police say” by Ellie Rushing and Chris Palmer, 8/31/23, https://www.inquirer.com/crime/hezekiah-bernard-body-found-dumpster-west-philadelphia-20230831.html.

[2]  LevelUp, https://levelupphilly.org/.

A second 12 y.o. boy, Jaylen Richards, was shot Saturday night in Baltimore, MD.   Whether he was the intended target is unknown.  He died in Shock Trauma, after unsuccessful attempts to save him.

See, https://www.wbaltv.com/article/maisel-court-shooting-baltimore/43609191#.

FOR MORE OF MY ARTICLES ON POVERTY, POLITICS, AND MATTERS OF CONSCIENCE CHECK OUT MY BLOG A LAWYER’S PRAYERS AT: https://alawyersprayers.com

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June 18, 2023 · 1:00 am

Precious

File:SAKURAKO. (3710281438).jpg

Great grandmother and baby girl, Source Sakurako, Author MIKI Yoshihito (CC BY-SA 2.0 Generic)

“A good-for-nothing man is an evil-doer; he goes on his way causing trouble with false words…” (Prov. 6: 12).

Baby girl, you are so precious.  You are so precious, you don’t even know.  Your Mama and I loved you from the moment she brought you into this world.  Even before that.  Your Daddy left early on, but we loved you just the same.

We rocked you, walked the floors with you when you were teething, saw you take your first step.  We cooked for you, we mended your clothes.  We saw you on the bus that first day of school.  You were so pretty, your hair all done up in ribbons.  Maybe you can’t remember, but I do.

You and I, we lost your Mama to hard work, then no work, then those devil drugs.  You must have asked me a million times where she was, on those nights she didn’t come home to us.  But she loved you.  She tried her best.  It just wasn’t enough in this cruel world.

Your Mama tried to help you with your lessons, in the beginning, taught you one and one makes two.  Do you remember that?  It was just that the lessons she had to learn were harder – lessons about hard men, and the hard road a woman faces alone.

Now you want to run after this man!  This good-for-nothing man?!  You think he’s going to give you something you don’t already have?  He doesn’t want to give.  All he wants to do is take from you.  Take your hips, take your fresh young face, take your smile.  But you believe his promises, promises as empty as noise.

Is it because your Daddy wasn’t there to tell you how special you are?  Is it because you didn’t see yourself in his eyes?  We tried, your Mama and I, tried to tell you that, tried to show you every which way we could.  Try and remember, baby girl. Continue reading →

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August 14, 2022 · 1:00 am

The Upper Hand – False Allegations of Abuse in Child Custody Cases

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7c/Dependency_docket_bench_cards_for_juvenile_and_family_court_judges_and_magistrates._-_DPLA_-_e9eeb7b58aac3e0d3630ac5760aa3e99.jpg/360px-Dependency_docket_bench_cards_for_juvenile_and_family_court_judges_and_magistrates._-_DPLA_-_e9eeb7b58aac3e0d3630ac5760aa3e99.jpg

Dependency Docket Bench Card, Ohio State Supreme Court, Source Digital Public Library of America (https://dp.la/item/e9eeb7b58aac3e0d3630ac5760aa3e99) (PD)

You are a divorced mother of three, working part-time to make ends meet.  You have custody of the children your husband expressed no interest in, even before the marriage ended.  You receive no alimony and little child support since he, also, managed to hide assets at the time of the divorce. 

Your ex and his new wife now feel custody would be cheaper.  Their ploy for gaining custody is to accuse you of neglect.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  But you have to hire a lawyer to defend yourself, and wind up putting the $10,000 retainer on your credit card.

  • Although there are times divorce is the best option, divorced women are more likely than men to receive public assistance, live without health insurance, and have less earning potential [1A].
  • 29% of custodial mothers live in poverty, as compared with 16.7% of custodial fathers [1B].
  • Only 43.5% of custodial parents receive the full amount of child support [1C]. The aggregate amount of child support due in 2015 was $33.7 billion.
  • Children of divorced parents are 1.5 – 2 times more likely to end up living in poverty than children still living with both parents [2].

The lengths to which a good and loving parent may be forced to go, in order to defend against false allegations of abuse are troubling [3A].

A lack of financial resources will exacerbate such a situation.  An attorney is not likely to continue with representation in the absence of payment.  Necessary psychological evaluation of a child in such a case can cost money, as well.

Unfortunately, the better funded (and less scrupulous) parent often has the upper hand.  The falsely accused parent with fewer resources may find herself or himself attempting to prove a negative not only in a custody case, but a simultaneous Dept. of Human Services investigation and criminal action. Continue reading →

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May 29, 2022 · 1:00 am

Psychedelics for Anxiety, Depression, and PTSD, Part 2

File:FerndalePoliceStop102415.jpg

Drug paraphernalia including marijuana/cannabis and a methamphetamine pipe, following a police stop in Ferndale, CA, Author Ferndale Police Dept., Source https://kymkemp.com
(PD per California Public Records Act)

We continue our discussion of the risks and benefits of a drug-based psychiatric approach utilizing psychedelics to treat anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Despite growing enthusiasm for the use of psychedelics, the evidence is far from in.

LSD

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) – one of the most potent hallucinogens – was studied from the 1950s to 1970s in order to assess behavioral and personality changes, as well as relief from psychiatric symptoms [1][2A].

LSD was originally used in the treatment of anxiety, depression, addiction, and psychosomatic illness.  Readers may recall that the US Army and CIA, also, experimented with LSD as a truth serum.  But most early studies were not performed to today’s standards.

Across 11 randomized-controlled studies (involving a combined total of 567 patients) positive outcomes were observed, particularly with regard to alcoholism [2B].

In rare instances, however, psychedelics such as psilocybin and LSD can evoke a lasting psychotic reaction (more frequently in patients with a family history of psychosis) [3A].  Adequate screening of a patient’s vulnerability and prior psychotic episodes before the use of LSD is, therefore, emphasized. Continue reading →

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May 15, 2022 · 1:00 am

“A Mother’s Love” by Kelly Fratamico

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Mary_Cassatt_-_Mother_and_Child_%28The_Goodnight_Hug%29.jpg

“Mother and Child (A Goodnight Hug)” (1880) by Mary Cassatt, Source https://www.wikiart.org/en/mary-cassatt/mother-and-child-1880 (PD)

Readers of my other blog A Lawyer’s Prayers will be familiar with Christian Legal Clinics of Philadelphia https://www.clcphila.org/, a non-profit whose predecessor I had the opportunity of co-founding.

Through the efforts of volunteer Christian attorneys and paralegals, CLCP provides the poor of Philadelphia with legal services at no charge.

This is one story [1]:

“In 2016 Maria, a native of the Dominican Republic, sent her two young sons, to live with their father in the US.  She could not afford to come with them, so stayed behind…Maria made this sacrifice so her sons could receive a better education and not be influenced by violence in their town.

Maria was finally able to join her sons and their father in the United States…in the summer of 2021.  However, their father became abusive with Maria and tried to keep the boys from her.  With the help of the police and her sister, she was able to retrieve her sons and move into a place of her own.  However, Maria…was scared that he would use the court system to take  her sons from her.” Continue reading →

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April 17, 2022 · 1:00 am

To Believe


TO BELIEVE
Lyrics by Matt Evancho

“Before I lay me down to rest
I ask the Lord one small request
I know I have all I could need
But this prayer is not for me

Too many people on this day
Don’t have a peaceful place to stay
Let all fighting cease that your children may see peace
Wipe their tears of sorrow away

To believe in a day
When hunger and war will pass away
To have the hope amidst despair
That every sparrow’s counted
That you hear each cry and listen to each prayer

Let me try always to believe
That we can hear the hearts that grieve
Please help us not ignore
The anguished cries of the poor
Or their pain will never leave

To believe in a day
When hunger and war will pass away
To have the hope amidst despair
That every sparrow’s counted
That you hear their cries and listen to each prayer

Father, as you see, I’m just a child
And there’s so much to understand
But if Your Grace should surround me
Then I’ll do the best I can
I promise, I’ll do the very best I can

To believe in a day
When hunger and war will pass away
To have the hope amidst despair
That every sparrow’s counted
That you hear each cry and listen to each prayer
(Hear each cry and listen to each prayer)

Help us do Your will our Father
In the name of all that’s true
And we’ll see in one another
The loving image of You”

Wishing you all a blessed Easter!

FOR MORE OF MY ARTICLES ON POVERTY, POLITICS, AND MATTERS OF CONSCIENCE CHECK OUT MY BLOG A LAWYER’S PRAYERS AT: https://alawyersprayers.com

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