In the last two weeks since the “unfortunate” placement of Kelowna’s Gospel Mission’s 30K Club ad next to an ad by an escort agency, I’ve been doing a lot of mulling over the irony of it all. It’s as if somehow we don’t understand how the two are related. For those of you who might not have seen the placement, here it is...
Of course, the placement of the ads next to each other was not planned, and we accept the apology from the paper’s editors for the way things were presented. We also apologize for any embarrassment the mayor felt – We are grateful that she supports the work of the Mission.
But let’s be real. Kelowna’s Gospel Mission helps women. Some have been abused: sexually, emotionally and physically. And some of those we have helped have come to us from what has become known euphemistically as “the sex trade.”
Legal, licensed, whatever. Those who have left it say it is degrading and damaging to them. They were in it because of economic necessity, or substance addiction or coercion. And they are very glad to be free of it.
Maybe it is time for us to grow up a little bit and admit that what the Gospel Mission does might be a little less necessary if it wasn’t for this “industry”. Maybe a realistic discussion of the effects of this “profession” is valuable and important to our community. Despite the pretty pictures, it isn’t a benign, slightly naughty business. The toll it takes on women is real and devastating. If the citizens of Kelowna want to know the real stories they should come and visit us at our Harmony House. Of course not all of the women there come from the sex trade – but they are turning their lives around and getting back on their feet. It’s a wonderful program that has helped many women.
Kelowna’s Gospel Mission is here to pick up the pieces of someone’s life and help them put it all back together. We provide a safe place for women, a place of respite and recovery. We do that with the help of the generous public in Kelowna.
So maybe this ad placement wasn’t a mistake after all, maybe its purpose was to get us talking about a difficult subject.
