Work on our first Restore Home for survivors of human trafficking is in full swing.  The Restore Team (made up of Abolishion  and People To People ) have been meeting biweekly to discuss the inner workings of the shelter and it’s associated Community Care program for survivors that are able to live with their families but still need assistance.  These meetings are vital for building a close knit support team for survivors who are comfortable discussing difficult topics with one another as well as all being on the same page in regards to how policies and procedures will work.

So far we’ve been busy setting up the legal entities under which we run, wading through government requirements for providing supported accommodation and researching best practice for survivor care.  We’ve been busy designing staffing structures and responsibilities as well as getting job descriptions ready for staff hiring.

Through our biweekly discussions we’ve been working through our philosophy of care.

We desire for our care to be future focused by establishing independence in survivors through engaging them in decision making. Many survivors lose confidence in decision making through the process of being in slavery.  Traffickers make all of the decisions, not the survivors.  As a result, it is paramount that they learn to make their own decisions in the early stages of their recovery.

Our care model will be values based rather than rules based, where we always give the why before the what or the how.  This is to empower survivors to think for themselves rather than simply do what they are told.  This helps them to become confident in living independent lives.

We expect that these workshops will continue over the next three months, as we build all the policies and procedures essential for running a shelter for survivors.  After this we will hire and train our relevant staff and search for suitable premises.  Our hope is that the Restore Home will be open before the end of the year.

Such a large project does incur large expense.  If you would like to contribute to the establishment of the Restore Home or to the support of survivors we would love for you to make a donation.

You can donate specifically to this project here 

Thank you for being part of team of people who care for those that have been through the horrific ordeal of being trafficked into sex slavery.  You are truly making a difference.