The sky opened up and rain flooded the highway as I made the 2-hour commute to this town within a town, Serenbe. It was only 4 p.m., on Sunday, September 18, and the rain seemed like it would never end. The GPS said I was only thirty minutes away when I lost all cell service and I was lucky enough to have taken screen-shots of the directions before losing service. The weather was relentless and nothing seemed to be going the way I had intended. A small house to my left, a stop sign, another house to the right, desolate, is the word that came to mind as a brief panic overcame my body. It was not until I saw the immaculate sign stating “Serenbe” that the rain ceased and all worry seemingly fled my body. The sun broke through the clouds and shined down on the farmlands, homes and apartment buildings that were oddly in the actual “middle of nowhere.” This not-so-quaint city had a presence that enveloped my inhibitions and welcomed me with the warmth of the elements. I was more than prepared to accomplish my mission with all the confidence I could muster.
“You must be Kennith,” said the greater at the door. “I’m Kirstin Brown, we spoke on the phone!”
I read somewhere that smiling makes people think that you know what you’re doing but smiling too much makes them think you are crazy. It’s almost definite that I smiled for a few seconds too long before I finally fumbled over my equipment bags and extended my hand with slightly too much force- crazy, she thinks I’m crazy.
Serenbe hosted the prelude to “Art Over Dinner,” in their Bosch Experience Center where guests were able to enjoy cocktails. The night was about artistic enrichment and the rain decided to once again paint the streets with its presence. In a moment that seemed too coordinated, Serenbe’s Art Farm Director, Erin Bernhardt, gathered everyone’s attention and introduced who they were hosting for the night’s “Art Over Dinner,” BeLoved Atlanta. Amelia Quinn, founder and president of BeLoved, and Michelle Hoeft, program director, gave a brief introduction to the charity, and shortly after, everyone was directed to drive to the farmhouse for dinner.
“The purpose of Art Over Dinner is to engage people in art,” said Bernhardt, “and to meet people where they are, with this delicious meal, and this beautiful location and to meet artists in and intimate way because art can be intimidating.”
The rain was persistent and everyone tried their best to avoid the potential saturation but the inevitable, ironically enough, is unavoidable.
“I usually like for guests to sit next to people they don’t know, so let’s try to make this enriching guys,” said Erin.
The dinner was outdoors underneath a covered deck area so people tried to get settled but at the same time tried to avoid the rain. Waiters began serving appetizers and the social has begun. Guests began interacting with each other and it was almost hard to believe that these people had only met for the first time less than an hour ago.
“BeLoved Atlanta creates a community of restoration for women who have been commercially sexually exploited. We accomplish this through asking women to commit to two years in our residential home and 3-phase program,” read the back of the menus.
The statistics were personally alarming, according Amelia and Michelle, “Atlanta is the number 1 city in the United States with highest sex economy income of $290 million per year.” When looking around me then only question I could formulate was “but how are these people supposed to be able to help.”
I took my seat right next to Quinn so I could ask her questions as they came because I was sure as the dinner progressed I would have many.
We began light conversation about the legal system and the women that Amelia and her facility now provides for.
“In essence we’re arresting the wrong people,” said Quinn. “Where the woman is usually a victim and we’re not catching the pimps we’re not catching the Johns.”
The statistic that contextually supports her statement is listed on Beloved Atlanta’s website: “87 percent of women in the sex industry said they wanted to escape, but had no other means for survival.” The women the BeLoved Atlanta helps were victims of these men that unfortunately never get to see a day in court because they hide in the shadows and the women that they victimize are the ones that get arrested and come right back because their livelihood is contingent on the mercy of their pimp.
Quinn and Hoeft gave a presentation to the guests of the dinner and everyone seemed very moved by the information that the charity provided for them about the statistics. A question that revisited my mind was “how does this dinner help the cause?” “I think a huge part of our work is advocacy,” said Amelia Quinn. “To get people in the community aware of what this issue is and passionate about making a difference. So being at an event like this where you sit at a table get to know us a little but also get to know the issue better hopefully will spurt you on to telling other people about it and seeing what you can do to help”
“Truthfully, I feel sad they can only take care of four women at this point and time,” said Art Over Dinner guest Allen Biel. “When you start thinking about what you see off of Fulton industrial Blvd., what you see off of certain areas in the city, I guess what is now Metropolitan Avenue, it’s unbelievable that this is the only organization that does long-term care for these women and the fact that it’s only four women- that’s like winning the lottery, that’s the most eye opening thing about this entire night.”
The dinner accomplished something that, to me, means more than the expendable finances of a few patrons, it gave each and every guest perspective. There were guests ready to volunteer their time and tell everyone they could about BeLoved Atlanta because of Serenbe’s Art Over Dinner which brought a level of enrichment that only an intimate dinner, on a rainy night, in the virtual middle-of-nowhere, with no cell service could achieve.
So what can you do?
Just donate a moment of your time to volunteer to BeLoved Atlanta or aid in finding a way to help more women then the four that they can care for currently. Any step toward helping is a step in the right direction.
