Rescued & Redeemed anti-sex trafficking fundraiser nears
Sep. 14—EAU CLAIRE — Sali Bluse and Elaine Geissler feel a common calling — a calling they say is driven by faith, love for their community and the desire to help those in need.
That shared calling will culminate on Saturday with Rescued & Redeemed's 3rd Annual Everlasting Hope Anti-Sex Trafficking Awareness fundraiser.
When Geissler, a resident of Chippewa Falls, saw firsthand what it looked like for a child and a teenager to be trafficked by their own parents for drug money, she knew it was her duty to take action.
"That tore my heart up," Geissler said. "And I thought, 'We've got to do something.' I'm a Christian lady. I go to church. And it was like — it's not enough just to go to church. You've got to get up off that pew and you've got to get out there and help people. That's where my heart is."
Bluse, a hairstylist from Eau Claire, shared a similar perspective. Having witnessed people in her life experience sexual abuse, she knew the issue existed, but was not always familiar with the concept of sex trafficking. According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, sex trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery in which individuals perform commercial sex through the use of force, fraud or coercion.
When Bluse learned more about the issue from Geissler, her client, the pair set out to make a change.
Rescued & Redeemed, a faith-based nonprofit dedicated to serving victims and survivors of sex trafficking in the Chippewa Valley, was founded by Bluse and Geissler in 2019. Since then, the pair has worked toward its goal of establishing a long-term residential program for survivors with an annual Everlasting Hope fundraiser that features a silent auction and raffle of items donated by over 150 local businesses.
"Awareness is key," Bluse said. "We have to bring awareness to the community and also to our organization."
Once established, Rescued & Redeemed's residential program will feature four key phases for participants to work through.
The first phase allows survivors to rest, reflect and decide how they'd like to move forward within Rescued & Redeemed. During the second phase, survivors will be offered a personalized education plan, medical aid, trauma therapy, classes for daily life skills and more. During phase three, survivors will be offered personalized planning and assistance with living independently, career goals and continued support. Finally, phase four involves helping survivors make that transition into independent living.
Aside from the organization's residential program, Rescued & Redeemed also features programming in assurance, awareness, prevention, outreach and advocacy. This includes yearly support groups led by licensed counselors and a year-round clothes drive.
There were 97 reported cases of human trafficking in Wisconsin in 2020, the most recent Human Trafficking Hotline data shows. Of those, 76 were identified as sex trafficking cases. Eighty-eight of the victims were female and 23 were minors.
"It takes all of us to know about this problem in order to stop it," Bluse said. "The more we bring education to both, all of us — we're going to be on higher alert. We're going to have our eyes and our ears bent towards looking for these situations."
"It's a very hidden thing," added Geissler, who said she just recently recognized and interfered with a human trafficking situation at a local grocery store. It's a situation not everyone wants to get involved with, the women noted, but it's important.
Bluse and Geissler said, at the very least, people should attend Everlasting Hope to educate themselves on the signs of sex trafficking, the impacts it can have on a person and ways they can help prevent it.
The event's first year reportedly attracted 350 guests and raised around $4,000. After skipping a year due to the pandemic, 2021 saw a smaller turnout, but raised around three times the amount of money as the first year, the women said.
This year, Bluse and Geissler said they expect those numbers to only go up as support from the community has increased over time.
Saturday's lineup will feature 13 vendors, speakers who will talk on comprehensive information about the solutions available for survivors, opportunities to connect with eight different ministries, live music and refreshments.
Items up for auction include an $1,800 diamond necklace, gym memberships, oil changes, appliances, restaurant gift certificates, golf packages and other items. Items to be raffled off include a remote start installation, a grill, a fire table, a wedding dress and a hunting knife.
