Don't let LGBT homeless youth fall into the hands of homophobes. DMN omissions about the Allies Against Slavery.
With some investigation we find that Allies Against Slavery is a secular public face very likely covering a religious agenda. Read our investigation and conclude yourself.
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As always, the links are saved at the Internet Archive. Give the Internet Archive a minute to retrieve things. It has hundreds of billions of pages saved.
Human Trafficking and the LGBT
A lot of LGBT runaway from home to escape abuse. There are programs to house LGBT homeless youths who have had to runaway. They are a vulnerable population which like many vulnerable populations they are vulnerable to human trafficking.
This is a group against human trafficking and they discuss the LGBT.
https://polarisproject.org/lgbtq-communities-and-human-trafficking/
This is their page on Sex Trafficking and LGBTQ+ Youth. They explain.
Nearly 40% of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ+, compared to 7% of the general population. These youth may face homelessness for reasons connected to their identities, such as family rejection, prior abuse or neglect, bullying in school, or social discrimination and marginalization.
Youth without safe shelter and social supports are at higher risk of trafficking and exploitation. Traffickers exploit their needs and vulnerabilities to compel them into sex or labor trafficking. LGBTQ+ youth may be trafficked by intimate partners, family members, friends, or strangers.
The coercion and control that traffickers hold over their victims, in combination with the stigma of commercial sex, may prevent youth from disclosing their situation. LGBTQ+ youth service providers may be in a unique position to recognize indicators of sex trafficking among the youth they serve and connect them with much needed services. [Bold face added.]
https://polarisproject.org/resources/sex-trafficking-and-lgbtq-youth/
This is an article at the National Library of Medicine of the National Institute of Health.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4204396/
“LGBTQ Youth at High Risk of Becoming Human Trafficking Victims,” at the Administration for Children and Families.
Digging into a Dallas Morning News article about human trafficking of juveniles and finding the Christian agenda.
So this article, which is a member exclusive appeared in the Dallas Morning News, Sept. 6, 2024, “A way forward for juvenile justice in Texas,” by John Nehme and Torey Tipton.
It advocates human trafficking screenings for youths in the care of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department. From the article:
Our organization, Allies Against Slavery, has been partnering with probation centers since 2018 to conduct screenings for human trafficking. This is a critical partnership because of the intersection between vulnerable youths in juvenile justice and victimization for human trafficking. Juvenile victims of human trafficking are frequently involved with the juvenile justice system.
The article mentions that John Nehme is president and chief executive officer of Allies Against Slavery and Torey Tipton is senior director of policy at Allies Against Slavery.
There is no indication that this organization or their effort is connected to religion in anyway.
https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2024/09/06/a-way-forward-for-juvenile-justice-in-texas
Allies Against Slavery online presence
This is the Allies Against Slavery webpage.
They say that they used data to fight human trafficking and they have a software called Lighthouse to fight human trafficking. They have The Lightkeepers Collective of donors to support them.
I didn’t find any religious links or identity at their website.
https://www.alliesagainstslavery.org/
https://www.alliesagainstslavery.org/lighthouse
https://www.alliesagainstslavery.org/our-team
https://www.facebook.com/allies.atx
https://www.instagram.com/alliesagainstslavery/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/alliesagainstslavery/
https://linktr.ee/alliesagainstslavery
John Nehme
According to this website, of the Church of the Cross in Austin, John Nehme is of Christ Church.
It seems that
We’re also back at it this week with “Parish People and Places”, where an individual or institution in our parish is featured here. …
This week I had the privilege of speaking with John Nehme, the CEO of Allies Against Slavery, who many of you will know from Christ Church. …
Allies was founded about six-and-a-half years ago in East Austin by a group of about 30 volunteers who realized trafficking was taking place here and wanted to make difference. For John, engagement with trafficking is informed by vision of God’s kingdom: a reign of right relationships and flourishing communities where dehumanization and exploitation do not take place. Additionally, he spoke of the Christian vision of humans bearing the image of God grounding his work with Allies.
https://www.cotcaustin.org/e-news/2016/12/15/back-at-it
https://web.archive.org/web/20240907214901/https://www.cotcaustin.org/e-news/2016/12/15/back-at-it
Christianity Today, had an article, 1/7/2023, “Sibling Filmmakers Set Out to Free Austin’s Sex Slaves.”
They are a member of some Anglican church, but which one isn’t mentioned. We do learn that it is a Christian film, but they aren’t going to be mentioning it.
The Nehmes are Austinites who at once blend in and stand out. They seem just as comfortable sitting in a bar making small talk with city leaders as they do raising their hands in praise at their Anglican church. "People want to know if this is a Christian film," says John. "There will be gospel truth in the film, and yet we're not marketing it as a Christian film. We want it to be from the church and beyond the church, attractive because of the redemptive truth in it. Film is the language of change in our modern context." [Boldface added.]
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2013/01/austin-slave-free-city/
John Nehme is interviewed by “Hill Country Institute Live,” who describe their activities are follows:
Hosted by Larry Linenschmidt, Hill Country Institute Live is an ongoing conversation about issues of concern and interest to the Church today. We visit the life and works of giants of another day, such as C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien and also spend time with people and ministries doing creative work to fight human trafficking, feed the poor, create quality art, be good stewards of the environment, and much more, all with the heart and mind of Christ. For more information about the events and resources Hill Country Institute provides, such as messages from our conferences on Faith & Science, Faith & Art, and impact of the work of C.S. Lewis, visit hillcountryinstitute.org
There is an entry at this page, “John Nehme Interviewed on Hill Country Institute Live.”
https://www.buzzsprout.com/20267/154869-john-nehme-interviewed-on-hill-country-institute-live.mp3
https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/20267.rss
There is a John Nehme who is a member of Christ Christ Church in Austin and contributes articles to their webpage. We don’t know if it is the same John Nehme.
https://christchurchofaustin.org/?s=Nehme
Again, I can’t find Nehme listed at the Christ Church as a member of Allies Against Slavery. I just find a reference to Christ Church at another church’s webpage. Christ Church isn’t a unique name for a church.
Church of the Cross and Christ Church are members of the Anglican Church in North America which formed after churches left the Episcopal church over the issues of Gays.
https://www.ofthecross.org/beliefs-values
https://christchurchofaustin.org/about/anglican-heritage/
This is a denomination which formed when churches left the Episcopal church because of the Episcopal church’s acceptance of the LGBT.
However, I do find Nehme at this page of the Anglican Church of North America.
In their page on human trafficking they have this entry. Which tends to indicate that Nehme is a member of the Anglican Church of North America.
Good News! Anglicans are making a difference, like John Nehme who is the Executive Director of Allies Against Slavery. Allies is a Texas and Louisiana-based organization that fights human trafficking through data platforms, partnerships, and resources, partnered with the University of Texas to publish Human Trafficking by the Numbers: the Initial Benchmark of Prevalence & Economic Impact for Texas.
https://www.anglicanjusticeandmercy.org/lent-2024-6
Again, the above doesn’t say he is specifically a member of the Anglican Church of North America. “Anglicans are making a difference” I think means he is a member of the Anglican Church of North America and that is the “Good News.”
Other info.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-nehme/
Internet Archive Linked In saving 7/9/2024.
https://web.archive.org/web/20240907213931/https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-nehme/
The movement against trafficking defined as a Christian movement by John Nehme.
It is on the Verge Network webpage that Nehme defines it has a Christian movement that must remain Christian.
For Part 3 in a series of articles on Trafficking, “6 Things the Church Must Do While Engaging with Modern Slavery.”
Number one is making it a Christian crusade. From the article:
1. Theological clarity
It is imperative that we form theological clarity around the issue of modern-day slavery and our engagement of it. If not, the issue will be reduced to just another option on the buffet of watered down, overprocessed causes. This is not just another cause. Our response to modern-day slavery must be built on the truth that slavery is an all-out assault on and complete contempt for the Imago Dei (the image of God). This reality demands engagement. Modern-day slavery has serious theological implications – as does avoiding the issue.
4. Mourning and Repentance
As we discussed in the first post in this series on modern slavery, we must start by acknowledging our role in perpetuating modern-day slavery, and we must mourn and repent. Check out our first post if you missed it.
The article additionally talks about church activities against human trafficking.
For Part 1 in a series the issue is that slavery exists and why they formed Allies Against Slavery. Pornography is singled out as related to slavery.
https://vergenetwork.org/2014/03/24/ending-modern-slavery-changing-ourselves-first/
For Part 2 in a series it is what any movement should concern itself with.
https://vergenetwork.org/2014/03/31/5-ways-to-keep-the-anti-slavery-movement-from-becoming-obsolete/
We need to realize how Christian charities are not charities but predators hunting for souls.
Could LGBT youth end up in the hands of Christians?
It seems very likely. Read this article. LGBT could fall into the hands of a “Christ-centered” group.
https://missionsbox.org/news/refuge-ranch-reach-sex-trafficking-victims-texas/
Nehme sees this effort as a Christian crusade.
Likely there will be other ways that LGBT runaway youth will fall into the hands of homophobes.
Dallas Morning News does it again.
This isn’t a one time happening. The Dallas Morning News has been aiding and abetting homophobia for quite some time since I started tracking them.
