Et cetera : AmeriCorps NCCC-FEMA Corps Team Volunteers at Human Trafficking Shelter

Pine 4’s Stephanie and Amber sorting the last of the shelter’s clothing donations.

By Darlene Banks

On Monday, January 20, AmeriCorps NCCC-FEMA Corps team Pine 4 organized and participated in a Day of Service in honor of MLK Day. The team helped out at a human trafficking shelter with Mosaic Family Services in Texas.

Mosaic Family Services’ mission is to “support, educate and empower the multicultural individuals and families of North Texas.” They go on to explain in their philosophy that they are “dedicated to serving survivors of human rights abuses from around the world and within our community.”

One of the many services that Mosaic provides to human trafficking victims is access to a donation closet, which contains things like clothing, school supplies and various miscellaneous items that families need for day-to-day living. Due to a surge in the shelter’s donation intake, the donation closet’s supplies had overflowed and had to be stored in different rooms. The disorganization had been preventing the clients of the shelter from obtaining the items that they needed to rebuild their lives.

Pine 4 was able to sort through the closet and the 10x15 foot shed to organize the items in a way that the trafficking victims could easily walk in and find necessities. Team members were also able to build shelves for different rooms at the shelter. Near the end of the project, residents came out and excitedly looked through the items, thanking Pine 4 as they took essentials back to their rooms.

“Reaching out and helping survivors of human trafficking and other abuses to human rights is a great way to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,” says Meghan, a member of Pine 4. “He fought to end injustice and inequality for marginalized and oppressed populations.”

As Pine 4 ended the day, they reflected on the service they completed and how just one day of their lives could benefit the community they’re serving in. “While going in and organizing clothing donations may seem like a mediocre task in fighting injustice,” Meghan goes on to say, “it shows the survivors that they matter and that there are people who care about them. This day of service put a bit of ‘good’ back into their worlds.” While one day of service may not end the war on injustice, in MLK’s honor, Pine 4 realized that they could fight it one day at a time.