ALL WORTHY OF LOVE

All Worthy of Love from All Worthy of Love on Vimeo.

All Worthy of Love (AWOL) was founded by Lindsey Fischer, as a non-profit organization that reaches to those enslaved by prostitution through local weekly outreach in Detroit and Austin. The way it began was nothing less than an "undeniably clear" divine appointment. We interviewed Lindsey to talk about this wonderful organization. 

Q:  All Worthy of Love currently has operations in 2 cities – Detroit, Michigan and Austin, Texas. What sparked the birth of the organization and why those 2 locations?

A:  AWOL has a really neat story…. But it’s a long one! Not to get out of answering, but I wrote a blog about this that goes into all the details surrounding AWOL’s birth that I would love you to read here.

With regard to the locations: It has been my vision to be present in the streets of Austin, Texas since the birth of this ministry. Since the age of 12, I have known God had a calling for me in Austin. After living in the city of Austin for several years, I relocated to Detroit, MI as the Lord lead. I knew my time in Detroit was limited and that one day I would be back in good ol’ Texas. Before AWOL was even a year old, I traveled back to Austin to begin developing relationships with other anti-trafficking organizations and to learn what sex-trafficking looked like in that geographical area. I then went back to Michigan and proceeded to birth all that God had imparted into my heart, while believing that one-day Detroit would be the birthplace for AWOL and I would be in Austin following the model of Detroit’s outreach. In May 2014 I relocated to Austin to do just that. I assessed the Austin area, continued to network with other abolitionists, developed a community, joined a mission-oriented Church, and developed an outreach program for AWOL Austin. I soon realized that the need for an outreach ministry like AWOL is ever present in Austin, but it didn’t take long for my vision to quickly expand to that need being ever present everywhere in the US. Sex trafficking knows no geographical bounds, so I refuse to limit the vision of this organization by such. In 2016 we launched to our third state, Indianapolis, Indiana. We are so thrilled by the team God has orchestrated and the 40+ lives that have been rescued through our weekly outreach efforts. I look forward to continuing to duplicate our model of outreach to wherever the Lord leads!

Q:  What are the ways in which All Worthy of Love is combatting human trafficking in Detroit, Austin, Indianapolis, and nationally?

A:  All Worthy of Love is a justice focused non-profit that reaches out to men and women enslaved by street-prostitution. Our mission is to restore broken dwellings, based on the teachings of Isaiah 58. We work in a three stranded cord; prevention, rescue, and restoration. We prevent sex trafficking through awareness. We promote awareness through various speaking engagements at local churches, schools, and small groups to educate the community of modern day slavery. We rescue victims of trafficking through weekly outreach. We restore victims of trafficking through partnerships with local organizations that offer safe housing and restorative care.

Our main focus is outreach. The vision for our outreach team is building consistent relationships. We currently have over 15 outreaches per month across 5 locations (3 states).

Our outreach team is intentionally kept small and we require a one year commitment so our friends working the streets see the same people consistently and as a result develop deep friendships. A team of 4 goes out to the same outreach area every week. I think what sets our approach apart is our commitment to not just reaching and rescuing victims of trafficking, but also their traffickers. We believe that the women are enslaved to one thing and the traffickers are enslaved to another – but both are worthy of love.

I always tell my team, you’re ready to love the prostitute when you can love the pimp.

We believe that people know what is wrong with them, they need to know what is right with them – so we speak truth in love. Every person we encounter receives a hearty lunch – and I mean hearty. When I first began this outreach program I remember being amazed by a donated peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but the girls on the street were not. At first I was shocked, but the more I studied scripture the more I realized that these women were Jesus and if He were here today and I was serving Him a meal I would make Him the best sandwich in the world. Our standard for sandwiches is just that, what kind of sandwich would you make Jesus? We want women to know they are worth the best. Along with their lunch, we provide a hygiene kit with 9 items, all travel sized.
We recognize that victims of trafficking do not have a consistent home they can keep supplies at, so every week we meet their personal hygiene needs. Additionally, every person receives a hand written card that expresses God’s great love for him or her, a love that is pure, without judgment. We also offer prayer. This part of our outreach is not forced. We trust that the Holy Spirit will do what He can do, and we will do our part. Jesus didn’t say clean the fish and then catch them; He just said catch the fish.  

Q:  From your years of experience with All Worthy of Love, what would you say is the toughest challenge in this fight against human trafficking? 

A:  I think the toughest challenge we have as an anti-trafficking organization is after care housing. We are so blessed by the amazing relationships we do have with safe houses, but they are far and few between. Getting a girl off the streets is the most joyous and stress filled moment. There are SO many hoops to jump through; does he/she have an ID, what county does their last known as address reflect, is she pregnant, what sexual orientation he/she identifies with, duration since their last stint in treatment, insurance or no insurance, and the list goes on. We need housing that we can call at midnight and take a someone in immediately, without any red tape. Currently we have 1 place that offers that sort of intake.

Q:  Could you share with us a favorite story of victory in the life of All Worthy of Love?

A:  When I first started AWOL everyone would ask how many people we rescued and for the first two years the answer was zero. I remember feeling so discouraged and thinking the victory in our ministry was in a number, and I knew in my heart that wasn’t the case. Jesus’ idea of victory is so different than our idea of victory. The Lord began to change my heart and show me that every single person we met, prayed with, or prayed for was our victory. Here are two really neat stories of victory we’ve seen on outreach and in restorative care:

“723pm Headed to meet _______ at _________, she texted that she is sitting on a park bench. She approached the car and Marline asked how she was doing, she said horrible. She went on to say that _______ is a crack head and treats her so badly. She just needed to get away, she said she has to leave when he does crack so she doesn't do it too. Lindsey shared about a safe house we could take her to. She's tired of men being nasty to her. Lindsey explained that earlier in the day the Holy Spirit gave her a vision about bringing her flowers. Lindsey gave her the flowers and said "these are from your Father. He loves you, He sees you, and He wants you to know His kindness is immeasurable." ________ began to cry. Said she hasn't received flowers in years and said she loves us so much. LF continued to speak truth over her and told her that God is a gentleman, He is the kind of God that brings His girls flowers because He cherishes them. We are here because she is worthy of good love, love that doesn't disrespect her or love with expectation and she deserves to know that! Gave her 2 lunches, she hugged us and said we don't know much, much she loves us.”

This one was a huge praise for our team! I met _________ the first month I began AWOL. I watched the streets slowly take away her life. I was there when she was beaten, raped, and robbed. Still, every week she would wait for our car and plead for us to pray with her. She found herself on the streets with a drug addiction and quickly that addiction lead her to being trafficked. One day she called our 24 hour hotline number and asked us to come and rescue her. She went through an entire year of restoration and found herself ready to make a commitment to make Jesus her Lord and Savior and was baptized!

Q:  How can the every day person support you all in fighting human trafficking? What advice would you give for someone who wanted to really make a difference?

A:  We have SO many ways people can link arms with us to help abolish slavery. Whether they are near to our outreach locations or far – there is a way everyone can get involved!

• Prayer Support for our outreach 
• Host an awareness night
• Compile Hygiene Kits (we pass out 50 kits each week)
• Make lunches (we pass out 50 lunches each week)
• Join our Outreach Team
• Write notes of encouragement
• Pack 'Survivor Packs
• Financial Support. You can donate online by visiting our website.

For more information on ways to help, please visit our blog page where you can find 28 ways people can end slavery.

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Another way to support them is to purchase our shirts and spread the word about All Worthy of Love and human trafficking issues. 10% of our sales until NOVEMBER 15 will be donated to All Worthy of Love. CLICK HERE TO SHOP

For further information on All Worthy of Love, please visit their:
Website: ALLWORTHYOFLOVE.ORG
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