Home of Hope
Shell Houston Open
By: Michelle Maggert

During the 2011 Shell Houston Open, 15 members of the PGA TOUR Wives Association spent Wednesday morning planting a beautiful butterfly garden and restoring a garden bench on the Home of Hope property in Texas.  Home of Hope exists to provide a place of refuge and safety to victims of human trafficking as well as rescue, restore, and rehabilitate them.  Some of the PTWA members dug right in and planted perennials that will grow to attract butterflies and hummingbirds, while others painted a nearby bench that we envision the residents of the home will sit with each other and enjoy the beauty and peace, while feeling safe and loved.

After the work was done, the ladies enjoyed a lovely lunch catered by Spectrum Catering and visited with each other. There was continuous chatter and the Wives were able to ask questions about the property and learn more about Home of Hope and their mission. The residents along with two board members Terry Burchett and the director of Home of Hope, Jeanine Sullins, were able to speak with us and give an insight to this intolerable crime. Both Terry and Jeanine talked at length about human trafficking and how people are not aware that this is a serious problem here in the United States.  It was surprising to learn that 25 percent of all human trafficking victims certified in the US exist in Texas, especially in Houston.  Houston's proximity to the Mexican border and I-10, along with its port, makes it a popular point of entry for international trafficking.

The US State Department estimates that as many as 18,500 men, women and children are trafficked into the United States each year and many for sexual exploitation. The US State Department was also surprised to learn that while people are brought into this country, one in every four trafficked victims is sent out of the US.  Human Trafficking has recently become the number one criminal industry in the world.

For more information and how you can get involved, please visit the website www.homeofhopetexas.com. There is great information about human trafficking on their website, including conferences and seminars for global awareness, signs to look for if you are suspicious and a call number to reach the National Human Trafficking Resource Center.