NFL coach going above and beyond for human trafficking victims
The Cleveland Browns won 10 games from 2014 to 2015 but have won just once since the start of the 2016 season.
That is the year Hue Jackson took over, and by looking at that record, one would likely say the coach hasn’t made a positive impact in Cleveland.
But Jackson’s impact goes beyond his team’s win/loss record. What he’s doing for the community of Cleveland is much bigger than football.
When Jackson joined the Browns, he and his wife, Michelle, started the Hue Jackson Foundation, whose mission is to help survivors of human trafficking.
The foundation also helped fund the Hue Jackson Respite Services for Recovered Survivors of Human Trafficking, a haven for women who were the victims of human trafficking.
The residence will hold its ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday in Cleveland, and Jackson is thrilled to assist the survivors on their road to recovery.
“Michelle and I are very excited about the opportunity to assist survivors of human trafficking by helping to provide a place of respite,” Jackson said in a statement released through his foundation. “This ribbon cutting ceremony is more than a formality. It is a signal to the community we hope to help that there is a safe place to go and there are people who care.”
The residence will be on the third floor of the Harbor Light Complex in downtown Cleveland. The residence is just two miles from FirstEnergy Stadium and will offer holistic services as well as space for law enforcement, health care and social services providers.
“The goal is to give the women the control they need to regain their life and their sense of independence and self-worth,” said Kimberly Diemert, the foundation’s executive director.
The Hue Jackson Foundation was in the news last month when Jackson raised money for it by jumping into Lake Erie along with more than 100 Browns employees.
… and they’re in! 💦🏊♂️🏊♀️@HueJacksonFDN https://t.co/QmTE56USbv
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) June 1, 2018
Jackson had promised to jump into the lake if the Browns went 1-15 again after posting that record in the 2016 season. They didn’t go 1-15 again — they went 0-16 in the 2017 season. With the lack of improvement in the win column, Jackson felt compelled to live up to his promise and raised money for his foundation in the process.
The foundation also plans community outreach programs to educate people about trafficking and works with the Salvation Army and other agencies that deal with trafficking on a much higher level.
“This is the first step in a journey, a journey in making a difference in the life of the survivors of human trafficking,” said Major Thomas Applin, divisional secretary of the Salvation Army of Greater Cleveland.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony might make it to HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” which will chronicle the Browns this season. The team’s training camp begins the week after the ceremony, but HBO’s cameras are already in Cleveland and the first trailer was released on Wednesday.
You can purchase a “Lake Jump” T-shirt from Hue Jackson’s website, and 100 percent of the proceeds will be donated to the Hue Jackson Foundation.
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