Child Sex Trafficking on the Internet- "Selling the Girl Next Door" Docu...

Thirteen year old Selena is from Detroit, MI. She is pimped out by a man and a woman who found her on the Backpage.com. She is sold for $350 an hour for the sexual pleasure of grown men. This started when she was age 11.  Just like ordering a pizza...SMDH

FREE MARISSA (PSA). MAY 29TH 2012 @ HEMMING PLAZA

The incarceration of Marissa Alexander is a travesty of justice!

How can a man who fired several shots that did kill someone get such a lenient sentence while Marissa did not shot or kill anyone and received a 20 year sentence??

Marissa fired a warning shot to stop her violent husband from attacking her again?

Sister Circle Groups EVERY THURSDAY - Miss Celie's Blues)

In my Shug Avery voice..."Sistah, you been on my mind, oh Sistah, we two of a kind..."

WHEN:   Sister Circle Groups meet every Thursday from 5:30pm to 7pm.

WHERE:  Sistahs' Cafe & Deli - 3717 W. Center Street * Milwaukee, WI

**(Sistahs' Cafe & Deli is the job training and job development component of
      Asha Family Services, Inc.)

Sister Circle Support groups are culturally relevant to African American and other like women. This includes: Those women living with abuse; those who have escaped it AND those who want to support them. Sister Circles provide healing with tools and skills for daily living including: safety planning, counseling, advocacy, education, finances/budgeting, healing, journaling and more. 

 Do you know a woman who is trapped in or has survived Domestic Abuse? Sexual Abuse? Emotional/Psychological abuse?

Sex Trafficking? Incarceration? Substance Abuse? HIV/AIDS?

Tell her she is not alone! Take her by the hand and bring her to Asha Family Services’s Sister Circle Support Group. There is HEALING from abuse!  At Sister Circles, you can learn what you can do to help save a Sistahs life!

Be Informed!

Marissa Alexander Case: Rep. Brown vs. Angela Corey Talk on Marissa Alexander

I thought I would "gag" at the patronizing tone State Prosecutor Angela Corey used when talking to Rep. Corrine Brown regarding the case of Marissa Alexander. Corey didn't even sound genuine to me. It is just mind boggling how this woman could possibly believe she made a  "righteous" call on Marissa Alexander receiving 20 years!

This just stinks! As my grandmother use to say, "There is a dead cat on the line"! In the field of violence against women prevention, you are reminded that in too many cases, a victim's greatest challenges can come at the hands of another woman.

In this case, Marissa fought repeatedly for her own life against her husband Rico Gray, a serial abuser of women and she fought for the life of her unborn child who came pre-maturely  and now she is fighting for her freedom against the criminal justice system that should have protected her but she was met by a woman (Corey) who obviously does not like her.

Dislike for Marissa seems obvious, however I also wonder why.  Is it because Marissa is Black? Is it because she is a woman? OR is it because Corey's decisions are being challenged by supporters of Marissa?  HOW DARE US QUESTION HER!!   Here is another issue...I have also wondered why victim advocacy programs in Florida have remained so silent on this case and that it went so long before any of us knew about it. Marissa was locked up and jailed the same day the incident took place, unlike George Zimmerman who persued, shot and killed Trayvon Martin.  Are victim serving program silent out of fear? Are they being threatened into silence? If so, it would seem an abuse of power fueled by a huge ego may be in play.

Corey rants about this case being tried in the media ...I guess she thought it would slip by so she is now in the position of defending her choice to go after Marissa, however it is now seemingly with a vengence! One could think she was a "woman-hating" man, but it is more than that with her.  Corey kept talking about where the "warning shot" was fired! What difference does that really make? The bottom line remains, Marissa did not point the gun at that abusive and violent man nor anyone else! NO ONE was shot or killed and Marissa may have saved her own life against Rico Gray that day in August of 2010 and since that day she is faced with another battle that should be the concern of us all.

More to come...

A TASTE OF SOUL - ft. GiGi, Jammin Dee & Men That Cook!

ASHA FAMILY SERVICES, INC.

3719 W. Center Street * Milwaukee, WI 53210

(414) 875-1511 * Fax: (414) 875-1217

PRESENTS:

A TASTE OF SOUL

Sunday, July 29, 2012

1:00pm to 6:00pm

Nostalgia II

9316 W. Appleton Avenue

Milwaukee, WI 53225

FEATURING:

The fabulous - GiGi

The awesome - Jammin Dee

The amazing - Men that Cook

DONATION - $10.00

$15.00 at the Door

(Request your tickets on-line at our website "Contact Us" or call Asha for your tickets today!)

This outstanding event and line-up is presented to support the work of Asha Family Services, Inc.(Asha)

You can help save lives!

visit Asha on-line at: http://www.ashafamilyservices.org

RIVER FALLS KILLINGS: Did Father kill his 3 daughters to get back at their mother?

RIVER FALLS KILLINGS: Father called ex-wife, asked to visit girls before killings

Click for video:  http://www.weau.com/video/?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=7490296

Domestic violence is a demonic killer of spirit, mind and body!

This divorced father of 3 called his ex-wife while she was at work to request an impromptu visit with his daughters who were at home with a babysitter.  The mom agreed. The father later called his wife back at work to tell her he harmed the children and for her to come home. The mom called police first who made it to the home before she did and they found the bodies of her 3 daughters ages 11, 8 and 5.

Was he trying to get the mom home to kill her as well? The presence of gas was strong in the home so had he planned a murder/suicide of the entire family?

Why didn't he just kill himself?!

Young, Depressed, and Of Color: Why Schools and Doctors Get It Wrong - COLORLINES

Young, Depressed, and Of Color: Why Schools and Doctors Get It Wrong - COLORLINES

This article states, "There’s a deep mistrust between communities of color and the mental health field". Read on...

The National Alliance on Mental Health notes (PDF) that African Americans are more likely to be misdiagnosed and, in turn, receive inadequate treatment often due to a “lack of cultural understanding.”

NAMI Fact Sheet:  Experiences of mental illness vary across cultures, and there is a need for improved cultural awareness and competence in the health care and mental health workforce.

NAMI Fact Sheet:  Across a recent 15-year span, suicide rates increased 233 percent among African Americans aged 10-14 compared to 120 percent among Caucasian Americans in the same age group across the same span of time.

Click (PDF) above...to get the National Alliance on Mental Illness Fact Sheet:  African American Community Mental Health

Be informed!

For sale: Girls and women, on backpage.com | Editorials - The News Tribune

For sale: Girls and women, on backpage.com | Editorials - The News Tribune

Girls and women are advertised for sale on backpage.com that is owned by Village Voice Media.
Village Voice hides behind the First Amendment to participate in and profit from the sale of girls and women for sex. Village Voice Media promotes pimping and human trafficking on another level.

One such Ad on backpage says, "Mature, college educated professional seeking a girl or woman for Adult Fun.  Any age or body type." Instead of saying "payment" some will say "donations"  SMDH!

Backpage does not require any confirmation that the females being sold on its pages are actually adults.  "Far too often, they turn out to be girls, many of them virtual slaves to pimps and human traffickers who are forced into prostitution. Far too often, girls and women alike become prey to criminals who find them on backpage.com."  Some of these girls and women have never been seen again.

The Legislature is moving to create a new felony, “Advertising commercial sexual abuse of a minor.”

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/02/14/2025197/for-sale-girls-and-women-on-backpagecom.html#storylink=cpy

A brutal – and typical – example is the case of Julian Tarver, a serial rapist who was sentenced to 14  years in Feb of 2012 in King County. He trolled backpage.com for victims; when prostitutes arrived at his apartment, he’d impersonate a police officer, handcuff them and force himself upon them.
Two of the females he raped were 15-year-old girls – both advertised on backpage.com.

Sign the Petition started by a 13 year old girl and her mom who are compelled to face-off with Village Voice Media to take down their sexual ads of girls.   CLICK THIS LINK TO SIGN THE PETITION:  http://signon.org/sign/village-voice-media-please?source=s.fwd&r_by=902329

I am sure there is more to come on this one!

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/02/14/2025197/for-sale-girls-and-women-on-backpagecom.html#storylink=cpy

Andre Davis freed after DNA evidence helps clear him | abc7chicago.com

Andre Davis freed after DNA evidence helps clear him | abc7chicago.com




Andre Davis served 32 years in prison for the rape and murder of little 3-year-old Brianna Stickle.

Davis maintained his innocence and with the help of his attorney and the Center for Wrongful Convictions, in 2004 he asked that the DNA collected at the 1980 crime scene be tested. 

Tests confirmed that the DNA collected from blood and semen taken at the crime scene, was not Andre Davis's.  Based on this evidence, the Illinois appeals court ordered a new trial this past March. On Friday, July 6, 2012, the State's Attorney dropped the charges against Andre Davis and after 32 years behind bars for a murder he did not commit, Davis was released from the Super Max prison in Tamms later in the day.

DNA was not available in 1980 however, the process is troubling. The request to have the DNA tested was made in 2004. The Illinois Appeals Court ordered the new trial this past March 2012. What was going on in the 8 years between the DNA testing and the courts?  So far, 42 wrongful convictions have been over-turned in Illinois due to DNA testing. Of the 42, Davis has served the most time.

In Alabama Prisons, The Less Sheriffs Spend On Food For Inmates, The More They Earn

In Alabama Prisons, The Less Sheriffs Spend On Food For Inmates, The More They Earn:

One Sheriff in Alabama is finally speaking out against a 1939 law that allows for the state’s 67 sheriffs to keep leftover money the state provides to each municipality for feeding inmates in local prisons.

 In 2009, former Morgan County Sheriff Greg Bartlett was himself put behind bars after he admitted to keeping more than $200,000 from the prison’s food budget while the inmates he oversaw were provided with inadequate food. It’s not hard to imagine how such a system could lead to massive corruption.  Remarkably, Bartlett may not have actually broken any laws, a point the Alabama Sheriffs Association made to defend Bartlett during his trial.

The current Cullman County Sheriff Mike Rainey, is calling on the legislature to end the current system in favor of allowing county commissions to oversee the funding.  He also wants to ensure that inmates are served fresh, healthy food.

“Incarceration is punishment. I know some people think you shouldn’t worry about what an inmate eats, but I think it’s a moral issue,” Rainey said. “They’re not getting filet mignon, but they’re certainly not (now) being served green bologna, nor will they be served something like that.”

Sara Kruzan: Sentenced to Life Without Parole at Age 16

Child Sex Trafficking Victim Sara Kruzan killed her violent and abusive pimp at age 16 and received a Life Without Parole Sentence.




Click this link to Free Child Sex Trafficking Victim Sara Kruzan: Child Sex Trafficking Victim Kills Pimp, http://www.freesarakruzan.org

Sara Kruzan, at age 11 was raised in chaotic dysfunction with a drug addicted mother. During a time she should have been protected and cared for, she became the "interest" of an adult male called G. G. who was also a sex trafficker. When Sara reached the age of 13, G.G. began raping and beating her. It was also at this time, he forced her into prostitution. G.G. put Sara in his "Stable" with other young girls and women who Sara says, "We were all I guess, married to him...that is how they do it".
For 3 years, Sara's mandatory daily work hours on the streets for G.G. was from 6pm to 6am 7 days a week.  Sara felt trapped in a seemingly never-ending nightmare and no body cared.

A rival of her pimp G.G. handed her a loaded gun and taunted her to kill her tormentor. For Sara, pulling the trigger seemed the only way out of her living hell...she pulled the trigger and G.G. died. That was 18 years ago in 1994 when she was arrested and sentenced to Life Without Parole at age 16.

Today at age 34, Sara educated, smart and intelligent, is acutely aware of  the dynamics of what "really" happened to her as a child and that it was wrong. She currently helps other women and girls in prison to help them deal with the abuse they suffered on the streets and in dysfunctional homes. She knows that her own lack of protections by caring adults and a history of repeated abuse and victimization as a child, is what allowed her to be easy prey for an abusive pimp and later to commit such a crime. Sara should have been protected and no one did that!

In 2010, Governor Schwarzenegger commuted her Sentence to 25years, however that still means  Sara has many more years yet to serve. Now, Governor Jerry Brown of California has the power to say "Time Served" and release Sara.

Please watch the engaging video of Sara's interview and click the link above to sign the petition to urge Gov. Brown to free Sara now.

More to come...

Family Files Suit Over Texas Inmates & Air Conditioning « CBS Dallas / Fort Worth

Family Files Suit Over Texas Inmates & Air Conditioning « CBS Dallas / Fort Worth





The inmate who died in this law suit was serving a one year sentence. After he collapsed due to a heat stroke, he was taken to the hospital where he had a body temperature of 109 degrees. It is estimated that the heat-index in his housing unit was between 121 and 128 degrees. 

The Texas Civil Rights Project says that "Prisons turn into brick ovens," due to the increasingly high temperatures. A total of 9 inmates died last year due to heat related causes.

Link to video:  http://dfw.cbslocal.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=7444409

State law requires that all jails keep an inside temperature between 65 and 85 degrees, but that law doesn’t apply to state prisons.

Texas has 111 prisons housing approximately 150,000 inmates. About 21 of those facilities is or has some partial air conditioning "for inmates".

Book Release on Black Women, Violence and US Prison Nation!!

NEW  BOOK RELEASE!!

ARRESTED JUSTICE BLACK WOMEN, VIOLENCE AND AMERICA'S PRISON NATION

http://nyupress.org/books/book-details.aspx?bookId=3170

Beth E. Richie is Director of the Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy, Professor of African American Studies and Criminology, Law, and Justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and author of Compelled to Crime: The Gender Entrapment of Battered Black Women.

This is a MUST READ!! Beth Elaine Richie's new book, "ARRESTED JUSTICE BLACK WOMEN, VIOLENCE AND AMERICA'S PRISON NATION" is now out!! 

The books description states: The threat of violence to Black women has never been more serious, demonstrating how conservative legal, social, political and economic policies have impacted activism in the US-based movement to end violence against women. Richie argues that Black women face particular peril because of the ways that race and culture have not figured centrally enough in the analysis of the causes and consequences of gender violence. As a result, the extent of physical, sexual and other forms of violence in the lives of Black women, the various forms it takes, and the contexts within which it occurs are minimized—at best—and frequently ignored.

order your copy today!

ADVOCATE: AIDS Rate Among Urban Black Women Stuns Researcher...

Click this link:   ADVOCATE: AIDS Rate Among Urban Black Women Stuns Researcher...: AIDS Rate Among Urban Black Women Stuns Researchers - Maggie Fox - NationalJournal.com

THERE IS AN HIV EPIDEMIC IN THIS COUNTRY!!

Don't be fooled thinking AIDS can't happen to you! Click the link above and get the facts to be informed. If not for you, then do it for a women or girl you love.  This is devastating to our community! We all need to be just as stunned and shocked as the researchers!!!  We are killing ourselves by our own stupidity!

“While we have always known that African-Americans had a higher risk of HIV infection than other American racial groups, this study confirms it and underscores the severity... of the national and local problem, especially in cities,” Flexner said.

“Most of these women were not active injection-drug users. The vast majority were heterosexual.” Some of the women were trading sex for drugs such as crack, but not all.

“A lot of these women are just young, sexually active folks in their teens, 20s, and 30s whose sexual partners are HIV infected and they don’t know it,” Flexner added. More than 40 percent of the women had no idea whether their sex partners had HIV.

The CDC says that 66 percent of the women newly infected each year are Black women! even though African-American women represent only 14 percent of the U.S. female population. “Nearly one in 30 black women will become infected with HIV in her lifetime,” the CDC says.


Be informed.