In the 14 years since Rethreaded first opened its doors, over 100 survivors have been accepted into our Survivor Development Program. This program was specifically designed to help survivors of human trafficking reclaim their lives within a supportive and safe environment.

Through funding from donors and the community, increased capacity to take on more staff, and the creation of a structured holistic development program, our organization has been able to increase the size of the program from its initial size of three survivors in 2012 to its largest incoming class of 10 women. To be able to welcome in that many women in one cycle has taken substantial time, as the healing process for the survivors in our program doesn’t happen overnight. Rethreaded’s focus is to empower our survivor staff in a way that allows them to choose a life of restoration for themselves. It is in the reclamation of choice that these women overcome the vulnerabilities that forced them into trafficking and can lead a life forward without exploitation or relapse.

Gloria Love, Director of Holistic Services, has been able to create a program that serves these women in developing personal and professional skills that they weren’t able to gain previously. Love’s dedication to education and fostering a trauma-informed workplace has created a positive work environment where survivors can process their trauma and heal while also maintaining meaningful employment.

Paving the Way Forward

Survivors who have come through this program have gone on to lead successful lives, taking job opportunities at other companies, raising their credit scores high enough to be able to purchase their own homes, and creating environments at home that foster a bright future for their own children. Some survivors even stay on at Rethreaded assuming leadership roles where they can continue to help other survivors who are just starting out in the process while also bringing new insights to our operations.

In our lifetime 105 women, and currently 21 women actively in our program, with their own traumatic pasts have begun the difficult work of choosing to heal. They are choosing to relive their trauma in order to work through it rather than let it rule their lives. They’ve committed to showing up for work, opening up to their therapists, and taking the responsibility required to break down the barriers preventing them from moving forward.

This incoming cohort includes 10 women in four different areas of the company. Their specific positions will help to run our operations, production department, retail store, and industrial kitchen which fuel the heart of Rethreaded. These positions are invaluable to our organization as they supply the products that keep our doors open and meet the demands of our customers. To say we wouldn’t be able to operate without the strength of these women is an understatement; while some may denote this fact to our company being based on the employment of survivors, it is deeper than that. They are the ones who bring light and joy into the workplace, their skills have become invaluable in several different departments, and their audacious faith and crazy grit inspire others to be the best versions of themselves.

A Brighter Future

During their first few days, the women have been able to be vulnerable about their pasts while expressing their determination and optimism for their futures. They have been warmly welcomed into the program through training sessions, in-depth tours, and fun socials. It is clear that each woman who has been welcomed in brings their own strengths to their role and will be an asset to their teams.

It is our hope that in the future we will be able to help another 100 women in less than 14 years as we continue to grow our outreach, educate our community, and adjust our development program to meet the needs of the new women entering it. We want to be an organization that provides complete restoration and eliminates the vulnerabilities that lead women into the life of trafficking. When a woman’s vulnerabilities are properly addressed, she is less likely to reenter trafficking and more likely to end generational trauma for her own children. Through the end of generational trauma, we are ensuring that a survivor’s child does not have to face the same barriers and can lead a better life.

We want to acknowledge this milestone, not only as an accomplishment for Rethreaded’s mission, but even more importantly as a monument to the strength of the women who enter this program and choose freedom. The decision to leave trafficking is never an easy one, but it is one that we will always support as we walk alongside the brave women who begin their healing journey at the Delores Barr Weaver Campus of Hope.