HRGlocal’s Out of Captivity Speakers Program supports trafficking and abuse survivors who are artists, writers, speakers, musicians and performers by facilitating their appearances and performances. Creative expression through the arts is recognized as a powerful therapeutic tool that enables individuals to deal with traumatic experiences. Writing, painting, drawing, composing and performing music, acting and dancing are all effective ways to process and move past harmful experiences and negative emotions because they allow individuals to re-create the experience – and themselves. Through their creative expression, survivors find their voice and spread awareness about the devastating crime of human trafficking. Our goal is to facilitate that process for survivors, providing them with opportunities to express themselves and speak out about their experiences, both in person and in print.
We currently organize speaking engagements and book readings with human trafficking survivors at churches, conferences and exhibitions, schools, and for members of civic organizations. We are in the planning stages to sponsor art exhibitions, community art projects, and concerts. We currently facilitate events in Southwest Michigan and the Chicago metropolitan area, and will soon expand to facilitate engagements in northern Illinois and Indiana. Our goal is to eventually organize events on a national level, and we are looking for local organizations in other regions who will partner with us to facilitate that goal.
We will also soon support the creative expression and work of survivors by posting their work on the Out of Captivity blog. Please show your support for our artists, writers and musicians by reading and commenting on the blog.
If you would like us to facilitate an Out of Captivity event at your church, school, civic organization or conference, please contact us at info@hrglocal.org.
If you are a trafficking survivor that would like to participate in our program and help spread awareness, either by speaking at an Out of Captivity event or sharing your work on the blog, please contact our Executive Director Heather West at heather@hrglocal.org.