APU’s first and only club regarding modern-day slavery, Free the Captives, is designed students together to talk about and plan events surrounding the issue of human trafficking, the illegal movement of people, typically for forced labor or sexual exploitation.
Senior practical theology major Josh Holm started the club during his freshman year in fall 2011.
“I came to APU just wanting to join a club that advocated against modern-day slavery, and there wasn’t one,” Holm said. “So I talked to Communiversity and the process of starting one and I started it. We started second semester of that year as a club.”
The FBI lists three California cities—Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco—among the nation’s 13 highest child sex trafficking areas, according to DoSomething.org. California in particular is a prime spot for domestic and international human trafficking because of its large city areas and extensive port systems.
In 2012, pimps used an estimated 17 routes to rotate their prostitutes throughout Los Angeles County, according to an article by the “Daily News.” These routes lead from the San Fernando Valley all the way down to the border of Orange County.
Holm’s passion for the club was to have the campus change the way students talk about and address slavery. Since then, the club put on various events that raised awareness and provided links to students about issues surrounding modern-day slavery.
Sophomore social work major Sarah Bedore serves as an officer for Free the Captives and joined the club this semester.
“I’ve actually done work in the past with human trafficking,” Bedore said. “Over the summer, I did an internship that raised awareness about it and realized that was where my passion was and where my heart was. I met Josh through mutual friends and found out about the club and knew that this is what I wanted to get involved with.”
Since it started, Free the Captives has hosted events such as movie nights to show documentaries about human trafficking and has collaborated with other clubs such as My Rescue, which focuses on raising funds for victims of human trafficking.
The club is also involved with many outside organizations. Two weeks ago, the club took part in the “Walk For Freedom” event in Anaheim to help others learn about and recognize sex trafficking. Earlier this year, Holm and two members of My Rescue traveled to Thailand to work with ministries located in the Red Light District.
Undeclared freshman Kendel Jolley-Ruud is passionate about the club because it encourages students to take notice of what’s going on.
“My go-to quote is from William Wilberforce, who said ‘You may choose to look the other way, but you can never again say that you did not know,’” Jolley-Ruud said.
During Global Engagement Values Week, the club is hosting an art walk-through with portraits of human sex-trafficking victims. Each portrait will have the story of the victim attached to it for students to read. The club will also help conduct a human trafficking panel, where speakers will talk about the issue over lunch.
“I definitely want to see every student on campus being completely aware of the severity of the issue and also aware of how they can get involved,” Bedore said. “I would like to see students not just knowing that it’s a problem but also knowing what they can do, and there’s a club on campus where they can get involved.”
Because Free the Captives will hit its five-year mark next school year, the club will be eligible to turn into an organization, which is a feat that Holm is proud of because not many clubs are around for that long. However, Holm says that there is still a lot of work to be done.
“My biggest goal is that we create a curriculum that we can, as college students, go out to the community and teach high school [students] and middle school [students] about this issue, as well as keep partnering with different resources around L.A. to get them here to talk and just keep changing the conversation here,” Holm said.
Free the Captives meets at 8 p.m. every Sunday night in Multimedia Room 1.