Project Meridian Foundation - {embed:page

Project Meridian Foundation, Inc. is a foundation dedicated to assist Law enforcement to identification, assist in the capture, and prosecution, of those individuals determined to prey on our children and young women worldwide. Today with the proliferation of the internet, pedophiles and other predators are specifically targeting our children and women at alarming and increasing rates. Project Meridian Foundation is working in conjunction with International, Federal, State, and Local authorities, as well as with the private sector, to recover, assist and repatriate children, young men and women who are kidnapped and exploited by "human traffickers" and often forced into the sex trades.

Vision

Project Meridian Foundation has a dual mission: i) identification, protection and rehabilitation of victims under the name of Operation Safe House. ii) Project Meridian: a) assisting by awareness training for the identification, and prosecution of the traffickers with International federal, state and local law enforcement and medical professionals.

Globally, it is estimated that human trafficking and enslavement (or slavery) has an annual street value of over $34 billion dollars and growing every year. Terrorist organizations as well as organized crime are now directly linked to human trafficking as the U.S., and other Nations crackdown on drugs and other illegal trades to cut off funding to terrorist groups looking to replace lost "revenue" from these lucrative illicit sales. These criminal enterprises have begun to migrate to children and under aged young men and women who are more abundant and harder to protect, let alone identify and capture the kidnappers because of their mobile trade. Traffickers use their victims as repeat commodities for forced prostitution really is "Rape", child pornography, ritual torture, slave soldiers, child labor, indentured servitude, and organ trafficking. Victims, especially children, frequently encounter the traffickers that find it easy to kidnap and enslave children for longer periods. Children are quickly becoming the targets for organ theft and transplant. Today many think this problem is isolated to only to third world countries and is not a United States problem so little funding has been provided. Below we will discuss in detail why this is a problem here in the United States and worldwide issue that must be addressed now.

Although recent U.S. Government funding has focused primarily on prevention through training and awareness, Project Meridian Foundation concentrates its efforts on identification of predators, capture prosecution victim protection, and medical treatment. Protection is provided through safe haven and victim assistance as well as other rehabilitation efforts, while assistance in prosecution is provided through a combination of intelligence gathering and other types of law enforcement assistance. As the trafficking crime syndicates are complex and interwoven, Project Meridian's efforts also offer intelligence in areas such as drugs and arms trafficking and illegal entry routes into the United States, which help combat the global war on terrorism as well as the war on human trafficking.

The infrastructure to educate and work directly with law enforcement authorities to identify the children, young men and women who require specialized assistance doesn't exist. Project Meridian helps identify these victims, take them to primary secure shelter, and provide a support system free from intimidation to describe their situation and identify their captors. The victims are offered shelter, counseling, and the opportunity with the assistance of government agencies, to obtain a T or U visa. Many of these victims remain in danger if not protected and repatriated slowly. Traffickers much like drug dealers use deadly force to protect their criminal enterprise.

Project Meridian Foundation is seeking funding for an initial location as the feeder facility and will have the capacity to serve approximately 120 victims per year, each for up to a three-month period before moving to a step-up shelter.

Operation Safe House will have the following characteristics:

• Shelter at an undisclosed location
• Food and clothing
• 24 hour security
• Medical treatment
• Psychological counseling
• Caring conversations sessions with Victims
• Witness protection opportunity
• Access to T or U visa
• Education and training

The facility will have medical personnel, counselors, and social workers on staff. It will assist in the rehabilitation process of the victims and provide them the help feel safe and secure. Operation Safe House will also acquire intelligence, perform first level analysis and disseminate the information to authorities in an effort to eradicate human trafficking operations. Sometimes vital information can be garnered simply by having individuals experienced in the arena of human trafficking has caring conversations with the victims.