atlanta – Ari Lentini

Sex Trafficking In Atlanta Is A Huge Deal

Human sex trafficking is a huge issue in our American society, but we don’t hear about it nearly enough. In a 2016 survey, Atlanta was the second largest city to have sex trafficking calls (per capita) at 317,000 people. I’ve lived right on the border of Atlanta since 2015 and I’ve only started seeing sex trafficking billboards in the past few months. This wasn’t something that happened overnight, this has been growing while most of us weren’t even aware of it.

150716095845-atlanta-infographic-large-169 — Image found on CNN.com

In 2018 alone, there was 157 human trafficking cases alone and 65 calls from survivors. To make it scarier, there was even a case in the county I live in. There was a 15-year-old girl who had escaped after being forced to have sex with three men prior to calling authorities. She had been forced to have sex every single day for three days in August. Just last month, my county ordered a “court-approved agreement” to the hotel the girl had been at to make changes to avoid losing the property. The county is making some strides in the right direction, but what about our capital?

Atlanta is home to many conventions, whether it be for sports or music or cosplay. It’s a great place to express yourself and find fun activities. Of course, this comes with a price. These huge events are susceptible to sex trafficking since there are so many people that are there and so many that come from out of town. A study from 2014 stated that Atlanta was once the number one spot for sex trafficking and that around 300 young girls are trafficked every single month. Despite this, there was an event recently that had a large number of sex trafficking. You probably guessed it: The Super Bowl.

df1668f2-8a9b-482e-aa3b-4604c8ecd23a-279x300 — Image of sex trafficking areas found on GeorgiaStateSignal.com

The Super Bowl 53 was held this month in Atlanta and authorities alerted everyone to stay inside as much as possible because of the sex trafficking. Of course, it was inevitable to stay inside constantly during the hectic few weeks leading up to the Super Bowl. During the 11 days leading up to the Super Bowl, 169 people were arrested for involvement in sex trafficking, where 26 were actual sex traffickers.

hustleGraphics-47 — Image of weekly income of pimps in major cities found on Apps.Urban.org

While I may be late in the day, today (Feburary 7th, 2019) is Shine A Light On Slavery Day. A movement called End It has been huge in informing the public on the realities of sex trafficking. They use donations to fund projects to end sex trafficking around the globe, so if you can help out please do. There are also other organizations that can be found in Atlanta, such as Out Of Darkness and Tabitha’s House. There are other resources you can learn about of course but here is one example. Stay alert, look out for one another and stay informed.

February 8, 2019April 20, 2019

Ari LentiniLeave a comment

River the Rescue

There are many stigmas held against rescue dogs that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Some of the stigmas people may believe is that, rescue dogs can not be trained and will have behavioral issues. Another is that rescue dogs can’t be purebreds. The final, and largest, stigma is that rescue dogs are given up because there is something wrong with them. In reality, most dogs are given up to shelters because of moving, personal issues, no room, financial reasons or even lack of time. Some of the dogs in shelters have lived a hard life and have a rough and abusive past, but that does not mean the dog is “broken”. Take River for example.

River’s Story

River, a two-year-old Black Mouth Cur mix, was rescued by Jill and Jay Waddell, when she was just six months old. River had gone through some difficult things in her short life. River originally came from an abusive and neglectful situation, spending most of her life in a crate, without any bonds with humans or dogs. When she was rescued from that situation and brought to a shelter, she faced several families who adopted her and then quickly returned her. It can be assumed that it was due to the fact that River needed some extra time and attention.

Jill and Jay met River and ended up adopting her and renamed her River to stick the theme of their previous two dogs named Canoe and Kayak! They were a little wary at first after hearing how families had brought her back, as anyone would be. They soon realized why she had been brought back and started to fit the puzzle pieces of her past together.

River started out pretty aggressive. While she never hurt anyone, she would bite their clothes and pull or jump all over them. They observed this behavior mainly in the backyard. This led them to believe that her crate had been in the backyard. She would also start to panic whenever there was any sort of yard equipment in her rescuer’s hands, such as a rake. This led them to believe that River had been previously been abused with yard tools. River also liked to lick anything metal, which they assumed was a form of her self comforting, since most of her life at that point had been in a metal cage.

River had no concept of how to be a “normal” domesticated pup. She didn’t know how to play and did not know how to act around people or dogs. Jill and Jay eventually went to a trainer for help with helping River. The approach of the first trainer was not a good fit, which involved reacting to the negative behavior in a negative/ punitive way. Instead, they discovered the best way to deal with the aggressive behavior which was River’s fear reaction was through love. Whenever River got riled up, they would sit with her and just hold her tight–even when she would try to wiggle out, they showed River that, no matter what, she had a family who unconditionally loved her and would always be there for her. She would softly tell her nice things and showered her in love. She would do this as long as twenty minutes until River felt safe enough.

River Today

Fast forward to now, River is a completely different dog, even though she is still a work in progress. She is only two years old, so she still has quite a bit of energy. She has even received the title of being the business partner in the organization of the Rescue Dog Olympics in Atlanta. “She doesn’t have any actual assistant responsibilities,” Jill had joked. However, River’s job does entail lots of emotional support and snuggles. She is constantly loving on her family as well as everyone else. She also loves to run, play with toys and now knows how to have fun with other dogs. Just by giving River the love that she so desperately wanted and some extra time and care, Jill and Jay were able to completely transform her into a beloved member of the family.

At the moment, Jill is training River to become a therapy dog for chronically ill children. She says that because River has so much love to give to others that she would make a great therapy dog to those in need. River still has a lot of work to do, since she still has so much energy and loves to jump on people to show her love, but will still make a great therapy dog in time.

River’s Impact

River is just one example of the countless rescue dog stories being made every single day. Rescuing a dog from a shelter as opposed to buying one directly from a breeder has so many benefits. By rescuing a dog saves two lives: the life of the dog rescued and the life of another dog in need that can now come to the shelter due to the open space. Most rescues are already spayed or neutered and even microchipped. Most adult dogs are already potty-trained and with a rescue, the workers will be able to tell you about the dog’s unique personality. According to the ASPCA, about 3.3 million dogs are brought into rescue shelters while 1.6 million dogs are adopted each year. By adopting a rescue, you can help shelters bring in more dogs that are in need and keep the euthanization rates low.

Rescue dogs have so much potential that more people need to see, which is a reason Jill started the Rescue Dog Olympics in Atlanta. It’s a dog lovin’ festival and dog party on Sunday, March 10, 2019 in Piedmont Park. It’s a chance for people to do something fun with their dogs and for families looking to adopt to meet some great rescue organizations and find their new family member. It’s a way to spread awareness to the greatness inside every rescue dog and to show just how much they deserve to be loved for their entire lives.

October 31, 2018November 27, 2018

Ari LentiniLeave a comment

The Masquerade Should Be Your Next Concert Venue

The Masquerade’s Purgatory stage, which smells of old antiques and is dimly lit with gothic chandeliers, is an incredibly intimate location for a concert. The Masquerade is located in downtown Atlanta near the capitol building and Five Points, which makes it pretty easy to locate. Grafitti decorates the entire way there and even the parking deck. The walk from the parking deck down to where the stage is located is full of dimly lit brick walls and brick arched entryways.

The Masquerade has been around since 1989 and has recently moved from their old location, which is the feature image of this post. It’s housed artists such as Nirvana and Radiohead, so it’s a fairly reputable venue for a concert to be held. The Masquerade holds about 500 shows per year, ranging from popular bands to smaller bands.

My friend and I got there about thirty minutes early and observed their security team check bags, pockets and jackets to make sure everyone would be safe during the concert.

All of the staff members were incredibly friendly and were all working hard to make sure that it turned out to be a fun and safe night for everyone. They even continuously walked by double and triple checking to make sure everyone was okay and excited for the night to start as we waited for the doors to open. The Purgatory stage is only one of their three stages; the other two stages are named Heaven and Hell. The stages can hold as many as 1,000 people.

Walking into the Purgatory stage felt like walking into another dimension. From the brick and glass doors we had seen outside, inside was all black with fake candles and antique-looking lightbulbs strung from the ceiling. We all shoved our way to the stage, getting as close as humanly possible to where the musicians would soon stand. The first act came out, a small Atlanta-based artist called I The Victor. As they played, it became apparent that all of the musicians and staff acted as though they were a family. The musicians would ask us to give a round of a applause to staff members for working so hard at putting all of this together and even asked us to buy one of the staff a drink since it was his birthday. I have been to two previous concerts in my life yet this concert reverberated so much positive energy from every single person.

The next act was a rapper from Texas named De’Wayne Jackson. He got personal with the crowd by telling us his hardships he’s gone through and how he took a chance by moving from Texas to LA. He told us how our society is going through a lot of hardships and that we need to band together to keep an open mind and open heart. It was an incredibly positive and personal experience while he was onstage. While he performed, we could see the staff hard at work making sure everything was perfect. They were bringing water bottles to the performers onstage, taking photos and videos, attending the merchandise booths and helping people find the bathrooms. Most importantly, we could see a man upstairs controlling the lights for each performer, making the concert experience even cooler.

During the time it took to switch acts, the gothic chandeliers would turn back on, allowing us to see the room better. Posters of bands and singers that most likely played at The Masquerade encased the walls around us. There was a small digital clock near the stage where Pac-Man and some ghosts would run across from time to time. In the back of the room were two merchandise booths for all of the acts and the exit door. To the right of the stage was the bar, which was always being attended. Staff stood by the walls and doors, ready to help on a moments notice. It was truly a fantastic venue for a concert.

The last artist to perform before the main act came out was a band called Chapel. While we all came for the main act, each artist that performed leading up to it were all incredibly friendly, energetic, and involved. When I say involved, I mean that every single act told us to either sing along with them or dance like crazy with them or even repeat Vine references with them. Thanks to being in such a small room with a small set made it easy for the musicians to interact with us personally and made it an even better experience.

The singer, Cody Carson, for the band Set It Off.

Finally, the main act came one: a rock band called Set It Off. The singer, Cody Carson, crowd surfed about five separate times and was able to do it safely, thanks to the diligent staff members. I didn’t know the band very well but quickly learned that they’re all incredibly positive souls that encouraged everyone to be their true and raw selves and to spread positivity in that room and in the world. It was a great band to witness live. After losing our hearing to the concert and screaming our lungs out for an encore, we all filed out of the room. We met with the opening acts and expressed how much we enjoyed them and even got some photos. Surprisingly, getting out of the Purgatory stage wasn’t hectic or full of pushing people out of the way. It was calm and quick and, before we realized it, we were outside and ready to go home.

This was my first time attending a concert at The Masquerade and after experiencing this, it definitely will not be my last concert. It was a personal, safe, energetic, positive, and fun experience that I would recommend to any concert lover. It’s actually pretty difficult to find anything bad about it.

September 16, 2018November 22, 2018

Ari LentiniLeave a comment