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JCAST Chicago Accomplishments

Celebrated Human Trafficking Awareness month with a showing of I am Jane Doe followed by a roundtable discussion led by: Yvonne Ambrose, mother of a Chicago teen murdered by her purchaser who bought her on Backpage.com, and Yvonne’s attorney; and Marian Hatcher, Cook County Sheriff’s Department. Over 200 people attended the event at the Northbrook Public Library. (pictured above) 

Since JCAST Chicago was created over seven years ago, the program has educated over 3,500 people throughout Chicago and Northern Illinois.  Here are some of our accomplishments

2018

  • JCAST Chicago partnered with over 25 diverse organizations to plan 18 events reaching approximately 800 people including adults, high school and college students, clergy throughout Northern Illinois, and seniors.
  • Celebrated Human Trafficking Awareness month with a showing of I am Jane Doe followed by a roundtable discussion led by: Yvonne Ambrose, mother of a Chicago teen murdered by her purchaser who bought her on Backpage.com, and Yvonne’s attorney; and Marian Hatcher, Cook County Sheriff’s Department. Over 200 people attended the event at the Northbrook Public Library.
  • Premiered our new parenting programs at North Shore Congregation Israel. Created in partnership with Jewish Child and Family Services (JCFS Chicago) Parent Trainer Tracey Kite and with advice from JCFS’ Response Center the two session conversation is developed for parents of tweens and teens explore how the value of women is often taught to children at a young age; purchasing of sex is often seen as a rite of passage, whether that is when parents purchase sex for their adult sons, women and strippers are purchased for bachelor and bachelorette parties, or escorts are purchased for other life events; and 90% of kids ages 8-16 have seen pornography online.
  • JCAST staff spoke in two breakout sessions during the Interfaith Leaders’ Summit planned by Women of the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) at Kiswaukee College, Malta, IL. Additionally, JCAST’s Trafficked Teens, educational displays of life size figurines with real life stories of how teens are often caught in sex trafficking, were prominently displayed and viewed by the 390 people attended.
  • Planned and spoke to large diverse crowd on the intersection between domestic violence, immigration, and sex trafficking. Located and supported by the First Presbyterian Church of Deerfield and cosponsored by the North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic (former Highland Park-Highwood Legal Aid Clinic) and  North Shore Illinois Chapter of the Links, Inc.