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Zone 18
No. 13 Vol. 14
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August 8, 2017
Phillipsburg Woman Champions Exploited Women’s Cause
By Cheryl Conway Phillipsburg women has found her life’s purpose in a non-profit organization that provides a safe haven for female victims of sexual exploitation. Ariel Wagner is the co-founder, director and C.E.O. of Zera House. Wagner, 35, founded Zera House in Dec. 2015, along with her friend, Katie Van Gorp, of Atlanta, Ga. For extra support, they partnered with School For Life in West Virginia, as well as support from the church community. “Sex exploitation and trafficking of men, women and children is a $32 billionindustry in the world, more than Nike, Coca Cola and Google combined,’’ Wagner said. “The U.S. holds $9.5 billion of that; New Jersey is number seven in the country when it comes to sex trafficking.” In Aug. 2016, Zera House was given a physical house in the mountains in
McDowell County, W.Va., a poverty-stricken area comparable to many in third world countries, said Wagner. It had a drugs and prostitution problem, sewage under homes and no-running water. The house, which can host four to five women at a time, is being renovated and is expected to open by the end of this summer. The motivation behind the organization began eight years ago, when Wagner was first introduced to the concept of humans being trafficked, sexually exploited and sold into slavery, she said. In Feb. 2012, she went on a two-week mission to Thailand with a non-profit group that rescues children, Remember Nhu. There, she worked with orphanages with 75 children, aged two to 18, targeted for such abuse. She helped with programs and projects, such as music lessons and exercise classes, and went into villages, searching for children
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at risk of being sold into slavery for child prostitution. “This just grieved my heart for so long,” says Wagner, who decided to share her vision with Van Gorp to establish a refuge in the mountains to help women heal. Wagner had been working for 10 years as a massage therapist in Phillipsburg, when, she says: “I was called to do this, to do Zera House. The Lord gave me this vision.” After being in a relationship involving sexual, mental and emotional abuse herself for three years, Wagner had to heal first. “I came out of my own abusive situation and said I want to help others heal too,” says Wagner. Zera means seed in Hebrew, hence the name Zera House, which has a mission, ‘to plant seeds into their hearts and souls, so they are equipped to live out their purposes of their lives.” The program is faith based, with a holistic approach involving sustainable living practices. “We have a home where these women can come and heal,’’ says the mission statement. “Our mission is to share the love, hope and grace of our loving father in heaven.” Since April, Wagner has been living in a loft in a large school with many rooms to board women for a week, month or year. The
school was provided by School for Life, an organization that contacted Wagner through her church, The Chapel of Warren Valley in Washington, where Wagner’s parents are members. At that church, volunteers got involved with Jersey Crew, a dedicated group that visits that impoverished area of West Virginia at least five times a year to help with repairs and construction. “I came here to visit,’’ Wagner said. “When I first got here, I said, ‘I can’t do this.’ It’s a very sad, very poor area. I knew this was going to be the first area to have our home.” So far, she has a 9- yearold girl in her care, given to her by the child’s guardian after she was taken from the mother, who was involved in prostitution. She also has in her care a 35-year-old woman who was homeless and involved in drugs and prostitution. “I am helping her stay off the streets, stay out of trouble and go through the healing process emotionally,” said Wagner. “She’s doing very well.” The woman just graduated from nursing classes, she added. At the house, women receive counseling, build necessary life skills, volunteer in the community and learn about sustainable living. The main goal is to equip women with the skills and personal resolve they need
to function in society without returning to exploitive industries. Once women are in her care for up to a year, her plan is to provide transitional Housing. The women will live in apartments and be taught budgeting and other home skills, like grocery shopping. “Some may not have a high school diploma; we will help them get their GED’s,’’ Wagner said, adding that she’d like to help
them find a passion and turn it into a career. She’d like to keep them close by, she said, “so they can be mentored; they need that accountability still.” Wagner is currently working with four organizations whose volunteers help her locate women and provide transportation to Zera House. She has also hired a certified counselor to provide in-depth therapy to her clicontinued on page 2