WildTorch Recap
What an honor it was to carry fire with you last night at WildTorch 2023 as we build Lovely Village together. There were so many new faces to our work and that is because of YOU! Thank you for bringing your people, for sharing this vision and for expanding the circle so that more survivors of sexual exploitation, trauma and trafficking (and now their kids) can be served.
I want to especially thank you for being the most gracious audience toward a character who was not well received in her time, Madam Mollie Adams. One thing I have learned about the arts (and why I adore performance) is that it helps us tell stories in a way that can hold more nuance than a sermon. If sermons are about informing doctrine, theater is about exploring dissonance. The arts hold space for the full range of human emotion and invite us to be curious about history, personality, faith and present realities. What I have loved about learning the story of Mollie Adams is how proximate her same life experiences are to many survivors today. She was turned out as a child. Today, Madam Mollie would be identified as a victim of child trafficking. Mollie also faced obstacles of oppressive systems and the need to make ends meet. I have learned over 20 years of working with women in the sex trade that “choices” are not made in a siloed soul, but in the swamp of cultural, familial, and environmental factors.
Personally, I am grateful that both Brad Livingstone and Sheriff Parnell McNamara allowed me, as Mollie, to play with these ideas of past subjugation of women and historic religious hypocrisy toward women who’ve been exploited through the sex trade . Both of these men in their current roles have lent their voices to our community, working to right the wrongs, to shine light on the truth of this injustice and as Isaiah says, “rebuild ancient ruins”.
Plus, they did an outstanding job last night! Don’t you think?
To our “Little Girl Unafraid”, Chloe who danced on stage like a pro and moved with the expression of innocence, you reminded us all of our beginning! Thank you.
My heart is FULL and my eyes are still wet from watching Stefanie Douglas(our Next Steps Coordinator) interview Randa Rice, owner Green Eye Med Spa, and Sthefanie Welch, owner of Black Daisy Boutique. Their confidence and message is loud and clear - women overcoming the odds can make it, but they need safe housing, stable community and living wage jobs to have sustainable success. Not many of us can understand the amount of courage, resourcefulness, hustle and brilliance that they embody. None of us would want to know the suffering that forged some of their glory. Your support of their businesses and of JSL/Lovely Village is vital.
Brett and I are humbled by this work. Also, can we talk about how amazing Brett Mills is? His leadership and passion in empowering women and men, disrupting the demand for commercial sex and inspiring others to win has kept the fire lit for nearly 20 years!
Lastly, we want you to know we were able to raise $166,000 at WildTorch to put toward Lovely Village! That brings our overall Phase One total to $306K!
YOU did this!
Our work is not over and we’re fired up to keep at it. Don’t forget to share the message on social media and with your friends and family. Information on Lovely Village is here in case you missed it last night!
With a heart still on fire,
Emily Mills
A HUGE Thank You to our sponsors!