Katie Patterson is a Golden Gopher from the University of Minnesota. She moved to Reno a couple years ago and claims that Reno is a “hidden gem and best kept secret on the West Coast.” Between skiing Rose, hiking Tahoe and enjoying the surrounding areas, Katie has no plans to leave. She graduated from…
DetailsTo complete my final blog post as an Awaken intern, I wrote a poem dedicated to survivors of sexual exploitation. I chose the honey badger because of their internal strength and perseverance. This is the same strength that I see in survivors at Awaken. An Ode to a Survivor People question why the honey badger…
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Celebration nights are one way the Awaken staff honors their community. On April 20th, 2018, I had the privilege of experiencing one of these events first-hand. As 5:30 approached, guests began to arrive one by one. I started to notice familiar faces, some mentors some clients, and some volunteers. I sat down and observed smiles…
DetailsStaff Spotlight by Vanessa Dunn, Awaken Intern Awaken is filled with warriors. One of those is Co-Founder, Jen Robinson, whose tremendous compassion for her clients shines as she discusses her work. Executive Director and fellow Co-Founder, Melissa Holland, states: One thing that stands out about Jen, is the way the women are so drawn to…
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Congress passed the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) and the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) to target websites that knowingly facilitate sex trafficking or intentionally promote the prostitution of others (pimping). The violation is aggravated if a website knowingly promotes or facilitates the prostitution of 5 or more persons or acts in reckless…
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My name is Vanessa Dunn (that’s me holding the sign) and I am a Senior at Sierra Nevada College in Incline currently studying International Studies and Humanities. For my service-learning project, I chose to work within Awaken, after learning of the disturbing trend of commercial sexual exploitation cases in the Reno and Lake Tahoe area.…
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