Mission

MEMS  empowers  victims  of  human  trafficking and mobilizes  communities  to  end  modern  slavery.

Vision

MEMS  envisions  survivor-led  movements  working  in  community  towards  social and economic  justice.

History

Mission to End Modern Slavery or MEMS was born out of a summit on human trafficking in May 2014 that gathered over 200 participants to St. James Episcopal Church in the Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens, New York. The summit, organized by the Asiamerica Ministries of the Episcopal Church USA in collaboration with Gabriela New York and the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns, featured a panel of trafficking survivors who shared their stories and cries for justice with community members, elected and faith leaders.

As a result of the summit, advocates and survivors came together for form AMEMS or Asiamerica Mission to End Modern Slavery.  AMEMS evolved into a continuing program of the Episcopal Asiamerica Ministries, the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island and the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON) to educate, advocate, and raise a survivor-led movement to end modern day slavery.

In 2016, AMEMS began the process of transitioning into an independent organization, the Mission to End Modern Slavery (MEMS). Mission to End Modern Slavery seeks to put survivor voices in the lead of building a community-based movement to end human trafficking. Based in Queens, New York, MEMS works with community partners to provide a safe and healing space for survivors to share their stories, dismantle shame, reclaim their dignity, and foster movement-building for racial and economic justice.