Ten is Not Enough

I have been in Oklahoma for almost a month now. Training went well and I can officially play the game by myself with a little guidance.  Answering phones, passing out medicine, writing progress notes have become a wonderful part of my life and most of the time I love every moment of it.

Yesterday though, answering the phones was hard. When I answer the phone and I figure out that it is a domestic violence situation I write it down on what is known as an "Intake card" even if it turns out not to be DV, I still have to write it down.  Three times I answered the phone and three times I had to deny three women of a safe place to stay. The shelter has reached full capacity and cannot accept anybody else until somebody leaves. As I listened to their stories my heart broke. Below is just one example of the three that I heard.

One lady was not domestic violence, but needs somewhere to stay. She explained to me that she is a sick lady who lives on Social Security that has an eighteen year old daughter who just graduated high school. Because her daughter has completed college, she will lose some of her money and will not be able to afford her apartment any longer. When I told her we couldn't help her she didn't understand why I listened to her story. I explained to her that situations at the shelter change almost weekly if not daily; two beds could possibly open up if God meant for her to be here. Continuing the phone intake process, I gave her references to other shelters. As I listed them and gave her the numbers, there were a few on the list that she told me were not safe for her and her young daughter to go to. The phone call came an end after the last shelter was given and she thanked me for my time and I told her I would be praying for her.

Today was an easy day. The shelter received lots of donations and had multiple volunteers here to help cook lunch and sort through the donations we had been given. Even though it was easy, those three phone calls kept running through my head.

When I got off my seven to three shift, I began doing my own research specifically for Mississippi.  I learned that there are ten domestic violence shelters across the state and only one specified for human trafficking.

This can't remain the same. If Mississippi has half of the same amount of women calling asking for a safe place to sleep long enough so they can get back on their feet then most of these shelters are near their full capacity too.

I am unsure what to do to make the number larger, but I know it can't stay this low. It breaks my heart to think that we could help save more women if more people would rise up and say that this is not an okay thing.

This really has nothing to do with a spiritual side unless God has given me this passion  of finding freedom, but helping others find freedom in safety.

Prayer request real fast and then you can get off your computer:

• S.T.O.P (Stop Trafficking in Oklahoma through Prayer) will be having a national day of prayer for human trafficking victims on the 24th of this month. Take a moment and pray for those in Oklahoma and anywhere else in your area please. 
• Virginia, our newest guest will most likely be returning to her family on Tuesday.

amgfinding_freedom