Meet Linda Smith my Hero

Meet Our Staff

Linda Smith
President and Founder, Shared Hope International

In 1998, while a member of the U.S. Congress, Linda Smith traveled to Falkland Road in Mumbai, India – one of the worst brothel districts in the world. The hopeless faces of desperate women and children forced into prostitution compelled Linda to found Shared Hope International.

Believing that authentic rescue requires restoration also, Linda focused Shared Hope's efforts around “one life at a time” and what it would take to make that life whole again – a safe home, education, spiritual renewal, and life skills. From the first Village of Hope until today, Linda has kept Shared Hope aligned with that goal.

To build momentum in the international anti-trafficking movement, Linda founded the War Against Trafficking Alliance (WATA) in January of 2001, which two years later co-sponsored a World Summit with the U.S. Department of State. Government leaders and local service providers from 114 nations came together to collaborate on regional strategies for protecting the vulnerable from the sex trade.

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In 2006, Shared Hope International spearheaded the U.S. Mid–Term Review on the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC), assembling leaders from across the country to assess progress towards combating sexual slavery of children in America. The resulting report became the basis for U.S.–Canada participation in the 2008 World Congress III Against CSEC .

In 2007, a study funded by the U.S Department of State gave Shared Hope the opportunity to focus on the root of the problem–the buyer. Linda and team conducted research in four countries, including the United States in order to reveal the sophisticated business model behind sex trafficking and the buyer market that supports it. The output of this study, the DEMAND Report, revealed startling numbers of American children being trafficked for sex within U.S. borders.

Shared Hope was given the ability to further examine the scope of the problem under a U.S. Department of Justice grant. Information from assessments in ten U.S. cities led to Shared Hope's 2008 release of The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America's Prostituted Children. It revealed both the magnitude of the issue and deficiencies in addressing the needs of victims of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking (DMST). Under the grant, Shared Hope produced training material for law enforcement and other first responders to identify and properly respond to child victims. Linda addressed the need for training material that would similarly assist service providers by producing INTERVENE with private funding.

Both DEMAND. and the National Report presented factual information obtained through years of research and both reports have been entered into the Congressional Record. Using this research as a platform, Linda is an advocate for a strengthened response at the federal level, and has been instrumental in helping states design legislative frameworks to protect the innocence of America's children.

Known for her ability to galvanize the grassroots community, Linda branded "Kids Are Not For Sale" awareness campaigns and furthered understanding of the issue by authoring two books, From Congress to the Brothel (2007) and Renting Lacy (2009). As a leading expert on sex trafficking and the relationship of demand, Linda often speaks in national and international forums, on radio and television, and before Congress.

Linda served as a legislator in Washington State from 1983 until she was sent to the U.S. Congress on a remarkable write–in campaign in 1994. Her uncompromising belief in the value of every precious child has carried her from leadership in her home state to the halls of Congress, and ultimately to serving victims of sex trafficking around the world. Linda and husband, Vern, reside in Vancouver, Washington.

Truth That Hurts...... c/o Toni L.Vossen 2010