Colossians 4:5–6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Featuring Christine Clarity McDonald
Christine has been recognized by the Missouri House of Representative for outstanding civil service in the state of Missouri. She is an advocate for Mental Health Champions.
Human trafficking is a topic that has been making its way into the mainstream over the last several years. The awareness of this issue is greatly rising, and that is certainly good. As awareness about human trafficking and other marginalized populations—such as the homeless, addicted, and mentally ill—has risen, so has the impulse to address these real problems. People want to know how to help. They want to make a difference.
I have read a number of books about how to help the homeless, the commercially exploited, the prostituted, and those generally marginalized. Some have been written by authors who share their own journey out of these places of darkness and hopelessness. The majority, however, have not.
Most of the literature that exists in this field fails to inform and educate people from an insider perspective. The authors of most of these books do not write from personal experience. They haven’t felt the desperation of trying to find something to grasp hold of to continue living. They haven’t faced the barriers put up by service providers that prevent them from receiving services. They haven’t experienced the social and spiritual disenfranchisements that can occur. While they are well–meaning, I haven’t found these particular books accurate in their depictions, nor were their “helping” suggestions all that helpful.
The need for something more true–to–life has stirred in my heart. It is something I have prayed about often. Perhaps a book on this subject should be written by someone who has walked in the very shoes of those we are trying to help. If we can see and understand the journeys the forgotten and overlooked have walked, then we can better understand the rejection, hurt, and struggles they face when people attempt to reach out to them.
And so I find myself writing this book, sharing pieces of my journey and the stories of others I encountered on my journey, to help the world better understand the thoughts, feelings, and struggles of those who have been exploited and marginalized in our society.
“Love your neighbor… ALL of ’em!” -Christine “Clarity” McDonald
https://paulthepoke.com/category/christine-clarity-mcdonald/
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