Group looks to aid victims of human trafficking
In April 2018, the New York Post ran a story titled “Inside New York’s silent sex trafficking epidemic.”
A July article in the Times Union detailed the arrest of a man and woman on charges of human trafficking. The pair had allegedly lured a 19-year old woman here from New York City, promising her a job and a place to stay — she didn’t know the “job” was prostitution.
According to the Polaris Project, a national non-profit dedicated to turning knowledge of human trafficking into action and aid for victims, 332 human trafficking cases were reported in New York in 2016 and, in the first six months of 2017, 180 cases were reported. These numbers do not account for the hundreds of incidences that are not reported or discovered. Worldwide, human trafficking is a multi-billion dollar industry, affecting nearly 21 million people from all walks of life, according to Polaris.
The organization said New York is ranked fifth in the nation for sex trafficking, behind California, Texas, Florida and Ohio. Human trafficking typically falls into three categories: sex trafficking, sex and labor trafficking and labor trafficking. Contrary to commonly held misconceptions, not all victims of trafficking are people who are brought into the country under false pretenses. While that is certainly true for many victims, the organization said, the reality is that trafficking is occurring under our very noses, in our neighborhoods, in local shopping malls, city and town parks, and in small retail business operations and hotels.
Eyes Wide Open NENY, Inc. is a non-profit organization located in Schenectady and dedicated to raising awareness of human trafficking and providing care, sanctuary and access to resources for women survivors of sex trafficking.
Eyes Wide Open was founded three years ago by Debbie Fowler McKenzie after she returned from living in Kuwait for two years. During her time there, McKenzie became aware of the magnitude of the problem while volunteering at a safe house for “maids”
who had been victims of enforced labor and sexual abuse.
Before returning to the United States, McKenzie promised the women at the safe house that she would do something to help victims of trafficking in this country. The idea for Eyes Wide Open was the result of sitting around the kitchen table and brainstorming with other concerned friends.
One of those women, Patricia Carley, is now vice president of the organization. An author, artist and poet, she and Debbie began collecting arts and crafts and supplies to sell at flea markets and craft sales in order to raise funds to open the non-profit.
Three years later, McKenzie and Carley opened Her Treasure Box, an arts and crafts thrift store that is run by volunteers, with proceeds going directly to fund Eyes Wide Open initiatives. The organization is currently raising funds to purchase a home for women who have nowhere to go after being released from prison. According to Carley, their focus is on women.
“We are looking to purchase a home, not a house. That’s what these ladies need,” said Carley. They will serve women aged 19 years and older. These are women who have “aged out of the system” and often have no place to go.
“Other agencies cannot wait for us to have the house,” said Carley, adding that they have already begun receiving letters from women who are still in jail and who will need a place to stay once their sentences are up.
Carley said they will allow the women to stay in the home for two years. “We will provide them with the home and love, and we will get them the services they need – counseling, GED classes, AA classes, job and computer training,” said Carley.
As part of their fundraising efforts, Eyes Wide Open has teamed up with local playwright and screenwriter, Joe Starzyk, of Joe Starzyk Productions. Starzyk first learned of the group from a newspaper article, and he knew McKenzie from volunteer efforts locally.
Starzyk, who has written more than a dozen full length plays, as well as dozens of one-act plays, decided to put on a dinner theater event to raise funds for Eyes Wide Open. The fundraiser is titled, “Play With Your Food,” and it is a departure from the more typical silent and live auction formats of most fundraisers.
“I’ve done this type of event a number of times, and it has always worked out well. People get fed and they see a show, and we keep the atmosphere light,” said Starzyk. In addition to writing the plays, Starzyk also has acting roles in the plays. His wife, Mary Daigneault, who is a licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist, also acts in and directs several of her husband’s plays, which have been performed across the country and abroad and have earned Starzyk accolades and awards.
The dinner theater fundraiser will take place Thursday, Oct. 4, at 6 p.m. at the Key Hall , Proctor’s Theatre in Schenectady. The playbill for the evening will include “The Golden Years,” “Instant Harmony,” and “For the Love of Noodles.” The three-course dinner will be catered by Mazzone Hospitality and tickets are $85 each and can be purchased through the Eyes Wide Open website.
Daigneault said the problem is so challenging because trafficking is becoming more profitable than drug dealing. “Drugs get sold once, but boys and girls can be used and sold over and over,” she said.
“A big part of our mission is public awareness. And every one of these events does that for us,” said Carley. She said she doesn’t know half the people who are buying tickets for the dinner theater event. “Which is a good thing. The first year, we just had family and friends involved in our fundraising events. So, we are expanding our base,” said Carley.