Photo: Migrante New York
Education & Leadership Development
Leadership Development is at the core of what MEMS does. Our goal is to assist human trafficking survivors in discovering their own potential as leaders to claim their rights and seek justice, and ultimately improve their collective situation.
MEMS conducts educational workshops and seminars on the political economy of human trafficking and wage theft, U.S. immigration policy, and Know Your Rights (in the workplace, and when confronted by law enforcement). MEMS also conducts trainings on public speaking, campaign development, and organizational management. We partner with professionals in our networks to ensure that survivors have access to the most precise and updated information so they may advocate for themselves and one another.
Assistance & Organizing
MEMS works with grassroots community partners to provide a safe and healing space for human trafficking survivors to share their stories, dismantle shame, reclaim their dignity, and foster movement-building for racial and economic justice. MEMS also has a growing professional network to which we refer survivors for legal and other relief for their various immediate needs.
Across the United States, MEMS assists human trafficking survivors and low-wage migrant workers in forming their own organizations and survivor support circles to assert their collective and individual rights as migrant workers. MEMS aims to build community organizing capacity among migrant workers and advocates that can serve as a first-line of defense against worker exploitation, human trafficking, and other security concerns.
Photo: Asian American/Asian Research Institute
Research & Advocacy
To support worker organizing, MEMS engages in participatory action research to center the lived experiences of trafficking victims and migrant workers in light of secondary policy research. MEMS carries out public education on human trafficking and wage theft and participates in policy advocacy at local, state, and international levels. MEMS also supports survivor participation in public advocacy activities.