Healing doesn’t happen by accident. In our mission to help survivors reach complete restoration of their lives, we recognize how mental health struggles, lack of access to resources, and our own decisions in running our organization can become factors in someone’s healing journey. We always want to accept survivors where they are in their journey and walk with them as they continue their path of healing. But in doing so it’s important to understand where the journey begins.  

At Rethreaded, we want to take the time to recognize the intentionality in healing and how it can lead to a renewed sense of purpose. Many of the people we encounter on a daily basis are struggling with issues we do not know about, which keeps them from fully being present. We lead with empathy and compassion, knowing that we all must acknowledge our trauma in a meaningful way to move forward. In our lives, we have all experienced some form of trauma; however, we also recognize that not everyone who experiences trauma has the resources to work through it.  

In human trafficking, mental health plays a significant role. Many traffickers seek out individuals who have vulnerabilities, and mental health issues are among the most common of the vulnerabilities that traffickers seek to exploit. The survival of trafficking can lead to a grueling journey of working through trauma and learning how to heal from it. We know how difficult the journey to healing can be and work to foster an environment that allows for holistic restoration in a workplace that offers nonjudgemental support. 

There are a lot of misconceptions about trafficking and how women* become trafficked. While many media outlets portray trafficking with intense action scenes involving kidnapping and running across state lines, it is much more nuanced than that. According to the Polaris Project, “only 5% of trafficking cases in the United States are abductions,” and “the other 95% are traffickers exploiting a person’s vulnerabilities in their current environment.” An overwhelming majority of trafficking cases are initiated from force, fraud, and coercion by someone who targets the individual due to a vulnerability. This vulnerability could be poverty, abuse, or a combination of factors. In a study conducted by Polaris to determine unmet needs by survivors of human trafficking, the organization found that 93% of survivors experienced substance abuse and mental health challenges prior to being trafficked (Polaris, 2023).  

By providing mental health services to vulnerable people, exploitation may be less likely to occur. A woman who knows that she is loved by a supportive community that genuinely cares for her wellbeing will not be as likely to be targeted by traffickers who seek out women without support networks. For many women, the person who coerced them into trafficking was someone that they loved, either in a romantic or familial way. The women felt abandoned by others and may have been tricked into isolating themselves from others until their trafficker was the only connection they had left. These traffickers preyed on their mental illnesses and forced them into exploitative and often violent situations. What the women experience while being trafficked can lead to PTSD and exacerbate any prior mental health struggles such as depression or anxiety.  

After a woman makes it out of trafficking, one of the hardest parts of her journey begins. While she was being trafficked, she oftentimes had access to food, a place to sleep, and the support of other women being trafficked alongside her. Once she is out of that world, she has no place to go, especially if shelters nearby fill up quickly. She has no way to earn income and no access to affordable groceries; it is also possible that her trafficker has forced her to repay a debt or used her personal information to incur debt against her. These barriers may feel insurmountable, especially without access to resources. She may face seemingly endless rejections from employers due to an arrest record, may struggle with substance abuse, and could feel ostracized in a world that judges her for her past. If mental health struggles were not a vulnerability before being trafficked, they are now. She will have to continue her healing journey while juggling poor living conditions that only create more barriers to restoration.  

In the National Survivor Study performed by Polaris, the organization found that many survivors struggled with their mental health, specifically “at time of exit, [where] 75% of respondents reported support in accessing behavioral or mental health services as one of their top needs” (Polaris, 2023). This statistic emphasizes the dire need for survivors to work through the trauma of trafficking to continue their healing journey. Rethreaded strives to meet these needs by creating an environment that embraces survivors exactly where they are and walks alongside them in their healing process, providing access to much needed services. 

Mental health services are vital to survivors in healing from their experiences. It can help a survivor process what they experienced, find effective coping strategies for the impacts of their trauma, and provide a safe space in which relational trust can begin to form again. 

At Rethreaded, we recognize survivors need resources to restore choice within their lives. Our organization works to support its staff in as many ways as possible. In alignment with holistic restoration, one of our core values, we believe that a work environment should promote physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and professional health. To be able to foster a work life balance, Rethreaded follows a bi-weekly four-day work schedule. This allows all staff members to be able to enjoy long weekends and feel like they have time for themselves. This also allows employees to feel more present when they come to work.  

The women in our Survivor Development Program have access to many resources they may need for their healing journey. Survivors have therapy sessions with a licensed therapist to help them navigate their trauma and day to day life, both individually and in a group setting. They are also assigned a care manager who can help them overcome emotional and physical barriers to reclaim their lives; this oftentimes looks like assisting and encouraging survivors in taking the necessary steps to regain custody of children, pay off debts, gain their driver’s license, and more.  

Our Director of Holistic Services plans programming like our Spring Training Series, a series of seminars, workshops, and real-world applications of important life skills such as budgeting, crafting resumes, and interviewing for a job all in a safe and positive environment. There are also monthly training courses for all staff to become more educated in emotional intelligence, critical thinking, and trauma-informed care in the workplace.  

Although many of the women in our program have struggled with addiction in the past and have arrest records, they are able to be employed regardless of this barrier and complete fulfilling work. Oftentimes, mundane tasks like cutting rags have proven to be very therapeutic as they allow women who are having tough days to contribute productive work while listening to music or a podcast. Whether a survivor is in business development or production, every day is filled with putting forth the best quality work and fostering relationships with the women who work alongside them. Most importantly, survivors at Rethreaded know they do not have to walk their healing journeys alone, every step of the way they are surrounded by the support of their community.  

Success in their professional lives, like years of fulfilling work, is just as important as their personal wins, such as going back to school, reaching 10 years of sobriety, buying a car, and raising their credit score. Rethreaded shares all our wins, from hosting a successful gala to celebrating a woman getting custody of her kids. Each and every win at this company, no matter how small it may feel, shows how far each woman has come in her journey of rethreading her life.  

Through other initiatives like daily walks, morning meditations, daily family style lunches, and a companywide fun day, Rethreaded continues to foster a culture of compassion and care in every avenue of the workday – something we encourage other companies to start to implement in their own offices.  

Although the path to healing can seem daunting, small and purposeful changes in our lives can create powerful impacts. Despite the trauma we have faced and the hurdles we’ve had to clear to get support, we can strive to heal on purpose and support others in their healing journeys.  

Resources: 

If you or a loved one are struggling with an emergency mental health concern or suicidal thoughts, please contact the suicide hotline:  

• Call or text 988 

• Chat at 988lifeline.org 

For those who want to learn more about mental health and find options for treatment, please visit: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/find-help 

To read the full National Survivor Survey conducted by Polaris click here. For more resources provided by Polaris regarding trafficking click here.  

If you or a loved one are experiencing trafficking and are looking to talk to an experienced professional, please use any of the following:  

Call: 1-888-373-7888 

Text: 233733 

Visit: https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en 

*At Rethreaded we acknowledge that not all survivors of human trafficking are women and can include men, children, and non-binary individuals. Throughout this blog we directly reference survivors as women as this is the demographic we directly serve within our Survivor Development Program.