House of Cherith Expands to West Georgia
By SAMIRA BARNETT SBARNETT@TIMES-GEORGIAN
GEORGIA | Sex trafficking affects thousands of victims on a daily basis and House of Cherith intends to provide a safe space for those who have survived the unimaginable. Kelsi Franco, Executive Director of HOC grew up at City of Refuge and eventually moved to a church in Atlanta, Georgia as her father was a pastor. At a young age, she quickly recognized the need of the community and knew her calling as individuals who needed assistance with food or jobs were not only seeking help, but also women were being trafficked.
Ten years ago in 2014 HOC began, delivering her promise of helping sex trafficking victims. HOC first opened up with their safe house program, a place of recovery and restoration with 10 beds available for women. Shortly thereafter in 2016, their first long term care program of 12 to 24 months with 12 available beds opened up. This program specifically dives deeper into recovery, providing a plethora of resources including trauma counseling, case management, job training, working to find affordable housing and transportation all in an effort to help these survivors build a better life.
The third home was opened in 2017 with 14 beds and during this time, HOC also won GA Office of FBI-Anti Trafficking Program of the year. In 2019, HOC then became its own 501(c)(3) organization and purchased the therapeutic retreat home that houses 22 individuals.
“These are very dignified spaces, we don’t like our facilities to feel like a shelter- more like a dormitory,” said Director of Development, Matt McGee.
Recently House of Cherith Junior in Atlanta, housing and supporting girls aged 12 to 18, launched. It serves a capacity of 13 girls and HOC also works with Defax for assistance.
“The average age of entering sex trafficking is between 12 and 14, that’s when the grooming process begins,” said McGee.
Currently, HOC is celebrating their new milestone in expanding their Mommy and Me program to the West Georgia area. As an extension to the additional resources provided, the Mommy and Me program launched in 2020 as 40% of women are trafficked by a close friend or family member and it became clear many of the women had children and in order to flee the horror of being trafficked, they had to leave their young loved ones behind.
“Sex trafficking is defined as a crime when there is evidence of forced fraud and coercion and oftentimes that child of the women is being used to coerce them into staying into the lifestyle,” said McGee.
During the time this program began only three beds in the country were available to survivors with children. As this was a huge need, HOC was able to carve out space in their facility and get hings up and running. Counseling services are also provided to both the mother and child in an attempt to break the cycle of abuse, trauma, and exploitation, helping the child heal as well.
With connections between Bremen and Tallapoosa, opportunities arose with a church who offered a building, allowing HOC to take their first expansion of a long term transitional home in West Georgia. Now an additional home has been purchased located near the long term transitional care for their third Mommy and Me location. The location will be ready to welcome residents by early Summer of 2024 and the capacity will include three more moms and up to 11 children.
As the city is a busy place, West Georgia allows survivors to surround themselves with a beneficial environment emotionally and safety wise while still having access to all resources in the city such as doctors or case management appointments.
“Having that space makes a difference, particularly women with children,” said McGee.
In the future, HOC plans to extend a Mommy and Me program and possibly single women care in Baltimore with a connection through The City of Refuge.
Following these programs, women go into aftercare primarily focusing on landing a job, getting affordable housing and transportation.
For those seeking to get involved with volunteering, Church and community groups offer onsite or offsite services such as preparing welcome kits for women coming into the program. In long term care, as well as attending appointments the women are also learning life skills. Volunteers can offer classes such as yoga or organization.
Students at the University of West Georgia also have the opportunity to seek an internship on a case by case basis.
Donations can be given to ‘Fight Club’, their monthly subscription giving program, donating monthly or quarterly and taking you on an exclusive look into the lives of the women by anonymously sending survival stories so you can walk with them on their journey. Annual events are also held to raise funds, such as the 2024 Rewrite Women’s Luncheon on Feb. 15 and the HOC Golf Classic on March 25. In the fall, a Clay Shoot is also hosted in West Georgia.
“If you’re in the lifestyle and you’re looking for hope and looking for help, reach out to us. Our hotline number [404-655-0024] is on our website and there is gonna be somebody to answer the phone day or night and they’re gonna work with you to get what you need,” said McGee. “The three words that we use are renew, reclaim, and rekindle. It is possible to reclaim your life. It’s possible to find renewal, renew your faith, renew your faith in humanity and rekindle your passion for a lifetime of success. You’ll see stories of women who have gone through this journey before you and come out okay and are stronger.”
For those concerned for someone who may be trafficked, resources are available on the website at hocatl.org with a pdf written by the staff using resources from those experienced and knowledgeable stating 10 signs to look for. For additional information, contact information@hocatl.org