Episode 43: Safety as a Right for Children, Not a Privilege: On the Front Lines with Advocate Patrick Atkinson. Part I

While in college, preparing for the world of work, Patrick Atkinson volunteered to answer phones to help people in crisis. Little did he know that answering “the call” would lead him to become the world’s emergency room worker, triaging and healing some of the world’s most vulnerable children. Throughout his career, he has taken great risk to his own personal safety to locate runaways in Times Square when it was crawling with drugs, crime, predators, and vulnerable youth. He worked in war torn Guatemala and El Salvador, entering dangerous territory to rescue children and house them in his orphanage, allowing them to grieve, work through trauma, and experience love and feel safe again. He now works on the issue of trafficking, exploited, and missing persons to help all children understand that love and safety is a right, not a privilege. Patrick is the author of seven books.  He discusses his powerful story and development of his two organizations that still work to serve children: GodsChild.org and ITEMP.org He continues to serve as father and positive role model to countless children around the world.