WellHouse to Build Restorative Home for Trafficked Minors
First Home for Trafficked Minors in Alabama
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (June 8, 2020)—The WellHouse will build a residential care facility for minor victims of sex trafficking on its campus. The Housing Affordability Trust awarded The WellHouse full funding for the construction of this new home, which will be one of only 40 known programs for trafficked minors in the nation, and the first in Alabama.
In 2019, The WellHouse launched their new program WellHouse Child—the only one of its kind in Alabama—to rescue and provide case management services to trafficked minors. The organization’s goal was to one day provide services in a residential setting, and this year, that goal will be realized.
The 8-bed facility will be built at The WellHouse’s 63-acre safe-house campus outside of Birmingham, Alabama. The WellHouse campus includes a trauma center, a short-term program, a long-term program, and transitional living apartments, all for adult female trafficking survivors. With the expansion, the organization will be able to house up to 48 survivors.
The WellHouse Child home will include an emergency accommodation for immediate care after rescue. There is not currently an immediate placement for trafficked youth in Alabama.
The WellHouse is one of the largest providers of comprehensive services for female survivors of sex trafficking in the United States. Since inception in 2010, it has provided housing and care for over 500 victims, many referred through relationships with local and state law enforcement, Homeland Security, FBI, and special street operations.
Adult survivors of human trafficking who come to The WellHouse receive intensive trauma therapy, medical care, job and life skills classes, equine and art therapies, health and wellness coaching, spiritual guidance, assistance with educational goals, addiction recovery, and immersive job experience. The same level of services will be provided to minors, to include on-site education and support for families whose children have experienced trafficking.
“Many women who graduate from the program go on to lead better lives, with purpose, and free from the grip of trafficking. Our hope is for every survivor to leave The WellHouse as an overcomer and knowing her true value, regardless of where life takes her next,” said WellHouse Chief Executive Officer Carolyn Potter.
Upon the opening of the WellHouse Child home, The WellHouse will be able to provide a premium level of care to children who have tragically experienced trafficking, and forge the path for other organizations to follow. The WellHouse is a founding member of the National Trafficking Sheltered Alliance and a leader in trauma-informed survivor care. Its staff co-hosts the annual National Trafficking Sheltered Alliance conference for like-organizations to receive training, best practices, models of care, and learn from the staff’s depth of experience in survivor care.
The organization will break ground on the facility in late 2020.
To learn more about The WellHouse and how you can give your time or funds to this cause, visit the-wellhouse.org.
###
About The WellHouse
The WellHouse is a rescue and recovery organization that provides residential, therapeutic programs to female victims of human trafficking who have been sexually exploited. The WellHouse offers medical, spiritual, mental, and emotional care. Regardless of age, race, color, creed, orientation, or religion, survivors in pain can be assured they will find love and acceptance at The WellHouse. Learn more at the-wellhouse.org.