Last night marked our first evening back on the track after about seven months of lockdown restrictions. As things in Los Angeles County slowly began to ease open, leaders at After Hours Ministry had to prayerfully discern what the best course of action was to have volunteers safely return to regular street outreach. So, with masks covering our faces, volunteers met outside to sign waivers, fill out a symptom checklist and enjoy some socially-distant fellowship with one another. After updating one another and hearing about the latest things happening with After Hours Ministry, our executive director led a meaningful devotional reflecting on being fearfully and wonderfully made by God. The team then dove into a time of prayer in order to further prepare our hearts for outreach.
We had enough volunteers to split into two teams (zone to zone); one team for each side of the blade. Our first team had a slower evening after discovering a number of eggs were splattered along the sidewalk. It appeared as though the people who vandalized the streets were purposely targeting the girls. This wouldn’t be the first time that sexually exploited women and After Hours Ministry volunteers had “egg experiences” on the street. And so, many of the women had been forced to move into team #2’s territory… past a candelight memorial for a recent shooting victim. This area is a tough place to live, but many consider it their home.
It was the busiest night some volunteers have seen; more foot traffic and more men were out than ever before (including johns, runners, pimps). John jams were forming on almost every side street (and even some spilled onto the main drag). “John jams” are traffic jams formed by lines of cars waiting to talk to talk sexually exploited women. Hopefully soon, After Hours Ministry can grow a more robust men’s outreach program (with hopes that ministering to men will help them stop sexually exploiting women). But with the lack of male volunteers, our ministry focuses a majority of our time of helping the women on the street.
With so much demand, there was great supply for “dates” last night (“dates” are when women “turn a trick,” aka perform a paid sex act). Interestingly, there’s also been a shift in racial diversity among the women being exploited on the track. In the past, about 90% of the exploited victims we would minister to have been Black women. But during this pandemic, there has a noticeable increase in White women on the street as well.
With new Covid-19 restrictions, outreach was a bit shorter than usual— teams stayed out for about an hour and a half (instead of 2-2.5 hours). And yet, we handed out the same (if not more) gift bags. Tonight, 44 women received a bag with hand-sanitizer, candy, a headband, and a business card with our After Hours Ministry hotline number. That means that 44 more women have access to resources from After Hours Ministry. While we’re encouraged so many received a thread of hope last night, it’s not the best of the news to have seen so many women exploited in a shorter period of time.
But a bittersweet highlight was running into Lee* who one of our volunteers had built a close friendship with a year ago. We confirmed her cell phone number and encouraged her to meet up for a free meal with us. Please pray for Lee as we try to help her find her identity in God and His design for her life.
Thank you to everyone for your prayers!
*Lee’s name has been changed to protect her identity.