Sex Trafficking – The Women Who Escape and Need Shelter

Jeanne Allert operates The Samaritan Women, a residential restorative care program for women who have been exploited by trafficking. The power-packed podcast talks about the intersection points with maternity homes and invites programs to think about creating “safe within” environments, ways to detox from a highly “private universe”, and how to help women reclaim their boundaries.

In this podcast, Jeanne Allert of The Samaritan Women lays out the field of residential options for women coming out of sex trafficking using four ideas.  While the maternity housing world doesn’t have the same language, it has similar concepts.  It is instructive to hear her thoughts on the field of residential care for persons coming out of crisis.

The first point of intervention is emergency care and includes things like emergency rooms, jails, and safe houses. On the continuum of care, these programs focus on the point of rescue or escape as well as the point of apprehension by law enforcement.  Women may or may not be interested in change at this point.

Next are programs that focus on stabilization, generally short-term programs (i.e. 90-days) where the woman may be living with a foot in the world of transformative care and a foot in ongoing connection to the world of her victimization.  Long-term care takes place in restorative care programs, the third type of program.  It is in these programs that Allert describes the focus as asking the question, “What is the new life you are aspiring to have?”  She suggests that clients spend 90% of time on building that new life and 10% of time on dealing with “trauma residue” issues.

In her experience, some of the important lessons of this phase are teaching the residents to have natural relationships and to assert boundaries.  The final stage is graduate care where the emphasis is on ongoing support during social entry and independent living.  During this time, having a supportive and accountable community is a crucial tool.

As of October 2019, there were 103 open residential programs that specialized in victims of trafficking.  These programs accounted for approximately 1000 beds.

“One of the ways that media has done a disservice to us is to create a hyper-reality of danger,” Allert asserts.  She argues that the relational bond that the woman has experienced with her abuser (i.e. as a parent-figure, boyfriend, baby daddy) makes her more at risk of choosing to go back rather than the abuser coming to find the client.  “It’s less about physical security and more about building a belief of being ‘safe within’,” Allert explains.

Rather than outside threats, the client is more of a danger to herself via self-harm, destructive decision making, and other negative behaviors.

Additional Resources

  • https://instituteforsheltercare.org/

    Heartbeat International provides a forum to express a marketplace of ideas for an audience of life-affirming pregnancy help organizations and those who support such organizations.  The ideas, views and opinions expressed in this presentation are those of the presenter and may or may not reflect advice, opinions, policies or views of Heartbeat International, Inc. Presenters come from a wide range of experiences and backgrounds, inside and outside of the Pregnancy Help Movement.  We encourage listeners or viewers to do their own additional research and discern for themselves how to apply the materials presented.

Dealing with Addiction: The Early Stages of Recovery

In this podcast, Andrea McAdam shares the policies and approach of The LIGHT House in working with young women in the early stages of recovery. Listen to her thoughts on how addiction factors into serving their community well especially related to intakes, dirty drug tests, and organizational relationships.

 

Heartbeat International provides a forum to express a marketplace of ideas for an audience of life-affirming pregnancy help organizations and those who support such organizations.  The ideas, views and opinions expressed in this presentation are those of the presenter and may or may not reflect advice, opinions, policies or views of Heartbeat International, Inc. Presenters come from a wide range of experiences and backgrounds, inside and outside of the Pregnancy Help Movement.  We encourage listeners or viewers to do their own additional research and discern for themselves how to apply the materials presented.

Tackling the topic of Trauma Informed Care

Heartbeat International Housing Specialist Mary Peterson interviews Peggy Forrest with Our Lady’s Inn discusses the research and training involved in implementing trauma informed care within their pregnancy help organization.

Additional Resources:

  • Our Lady’s Inn
  • National Maternity Housing Coalition Website

    Heartbeat International provides a forum to express a marketplace of ideas for an audience of life-affirming pregnancy help organizations and those who support such organizations.  The ideas, views and opinions expressed in this presentation are those of the presenter and may or may not reflect advice, opinions, policies or views of Heartbeat International, Inc. Presenters come from a wide range of experiences and backgrounds, inside and outside of the Pregnancy Help Movement.  We encourage listeners or viewers to do their own additional research and discern for themselves how to apply the materials presented.

Medically Treated Addiction

Join housing experts from around the nation as they delve into the important topic of Medically Treated Addiction in relation to Maternity Homes

Heartbeat International provides a forum to express a marketplace of ideas for an audience of life-affirming pregnancy help organizations and those who support such organizations.  The ideas, views and opinions expressed in this presentation are those of the presenter and may or may not reflect advice, opinions, policies or views of Heartbeat International, Inc. Presenters come from a wide range of experiences and backgrounds, inside and outside of the Pregnancy Help Movement.  We encourage listeners or viewers to do their own additional research and discern for themselves how to apply the materials presented..

Self-Medication

Join Mary, Suzanne and Lisa as they discuss self-medication specifically in regard to pregnant women and pregnancy help organizations. In this episode, they will define what self-medication is and how it impacts the women within their programs.

 

Heartbeat International provides a forum to express a marketplace of ideas for an audience of life-affirming pregnancy help organizations and those who support such organizations.  The ideas, views and opinions expressed in this presentation are those of the presenter and may or may not reflect advice, opinions, policies or views of Heartbeat International, Inc. Presenters come from a wide range of experiences and backgrounds, inside and outside of the Pregnancy Help Movement.  We encourage listeners or viewers to do their own additional research and discern for themselves how to apply the materials presented.

Physiological Aspects of Trauma: Impact on the Body

Join Mary Peterson as she talks with Suzanne Burns, MA-MFS and Lisa Holmes with Foundation House Ministries on the impact trauma has on the body of the woman.

Heartbeat International provides a forum to express a marketplace of ideas for an audience of life-affirming pregnancy help organizations and those who support such organizations.  The ideas, views and opinions expressed in this presentation are those of the presenter and may or may not reflect advice, opinions, policies or views of Heartbeat International, Inc. Presenters come from a wide range of experiences and backgrounds, inside and outside of the Pregnancy Help Movement.  We encourage listeners or viewers to do their own additional research and discern for themselves how to apply the materials presented.

How to Avoid Secondary Trauma as a Caregiver

Join Heartbeat International Housing Specialist, Mary Peterson, as she talks with Lisa Holmes of Foundation House Ministry to discuss ways to avoid secondary trauma within the housing community.

For additional resources on this and other podcasts, click here.

Heartbeat International provides a forum to express a marketplace of ideas for an audience of life-affirming pregnancy help organizations and those who support such organizations.  The ideas, views and opinions expressed in this presentation are those of the presenter and may or may not reflect advice, opinions, policies or views of Heartbeat International, Inc. Presenters come from a wide range of experiences and backgrounds, inside and outside of the Pregnancy Help Movement.  We encourage listeners or viewers to do their own additional research and discern for themselves how to apply the materials presented.

The Relational Impact of Trauma

This session explorers how trauma affects relationships, including relationships with staff in the home, other moms in the home, and in some cases our clients children. To purchase the episode in its entirety, go to heartbeatservices.org/resources.

  • Purchase full episodes on issues surrounding trauma informed care.

    Heartbeat International provides a forum to express a marketplace of ideas for an audience of life-affirming pregnancy help organizations and those who support such organizations.  The ideas, views and opinions expressed in this presentation are those of the presenter and may or may not reflect advice, opinions, policies or views of Heartbeat International, Inc. Presenters come from a wide range of experiences and backgrounds, inside and outside of the Pregnancy Help Movement.  We encourage listeners or viewers to do their own additional research and discern for themselves how to apply the materials presented.

Trauma-Informed Rule Structures

In this session we’ll look at how create rule structures in the home that provide order and stability but are trauma-informed.

Heartbeat International provides a forum to express a marketplace of ideas for an audience of life-affirming pregnancy help organizations and those who support such organizations.  The ideas, views and opinions expressed in this presentation are those of the presenter and may or may not reflect advice, opinions, policies or views of Heartbeat International, Inc. Presenters come from a wide range of experiences and backgrounds, inside and outside of the Pregnancy Help Movement.  We encourage listeners or viewers to do their own additional research and discern for themselves how to apply the materials presented.

Strategies for Deescalating

We know that things around the home can get heated at times. This session will explore factors that contribute to escalation, and how recognizing those factors can help us deescalate effectively when the need arises. To purchase this episode in its entirety, go to heartbeatservices.org/resources

  • Purchase full episodes on issues surrounding trauma informed care.Heartbeat International provides a forum to express a marketplace of ideas for an audience of life-affirming pregnancy help organizations and those who support such organizations.  The ideas, views and opinions expressed in this presentation are those of the presenter and may or may not reflect advice, opinions, policies or views of Heartbeat International, Inc. Presenters come from a wide range of experiences and backgrounds, inside and outside of the Pregnancy Help Movement.  We encourage listeners or viewers to do their own additional research and discern for themselves how to apply the materials presented.