Healing through Economic Opportunity
“I want
to work.�
THE CHALLENGE Finding safe and gainful
for a “travel agent” to
These women yearn for
employment is one of
bring them to the US.
personal and economic
the toughest challenges
As such, they are not
freedom and yet there
survivors face.
authorized to work in
are few places to go for
the US. Meanwhile, the
help.
The hurdles are relentless women we serve are logistically, legally, and
often sole-providers and
Instead, they return to
emotionally. More than
desperate to provide for
work at illicit massage
half only have a high
themselves, children and
parlors or other
school education and
families. Complicating
immigrant-owned small
most do not speak
it further, all suffer from
businesses and risk
English. Many need
the trauma associated
further exploitation and
to pay off their “debt
with being a victim of
trafficking.
bondage”— lent money
sex trafficking.
Safety from trafficking Economic opportunity Social support
=
True freedom and restoration
A LEGACY OF FREEDOM Survivors who experience economic freedom and holistic restoration will be empowered to lead the movement to end trafficking, helping to make sure other women do not fall victim to the same horrors they have experienced.
OUR RESPONSE Make freedom real. Restore is launching a holistic economic empowerment initiative to provide survivors with access to jobs while surrounding them with the resources they need to stay employed, adapt to life in the United States, and heal from the trauma they have experienced. We believe that security in resources and relationships will bring healing and restoration for the women we serve, their children, and the generations to come.
You can make this vision a reality. Will you join us?
OUR VISION FOR ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT We believe that victims of sex trafficking deserve to work in sustainable, meaningful, and safe jobs. They should not live in fear of further exploitation and should not face the burden of healing themselves, supporting their families, and adapting to life in the United States alone. As part of Restore’s commitment to freedom and restoration, we will provide them with
access to jobs, basic skills training, and a supportive environment to facilitate learning and healing. When survivors are secure in their resources and their relationships, there is healing and restoration - for them, for their children, and for the generations to come.
In addition, safe and sustainable jobs will bring more victims out of hiding, helping to empower an entire generation of survivors to break the cycle modernday slavery in the United States.
THE PLAN ONE PROGRAM. TWO COMPONENTS. LASTING CHANGE. Workers’ cooperative for jobs
+ Supportive services for healing and transition
=
Economic Empowerment Program
WORKERS’ COOPERATIVE: A NEW SOCIAL ENTERPRISE What is it? Restore NYC is launching a Workers’ Cooperative Staffing Agency through which for- and non-profit organizations can hire victims who lack work authorization. Restore clients will become part owners of the co-op and employers will hire the co-op, not individuals, for jobs. This model is thriving in several parts of the country and will allow us the flexibility to place clients in a variety
of safe, sustainable jobs while they report income and pay taxes on the co-op equity they receive in return for their work. Each client will be paired with a coach and ongoing support to ensure a smooth transition into the workplace.
industry, ensuring we are able to find work for a wide variety of clients. In addition, our existing partner networks span a range of fields and we expect to leverage these relationships to help the co-op place women in jobs.
Why a staffing agency? It is among the most profitable social enterprise models and it is not limited to a particular business or
Why will employers participate? Business owners and employers will work with the coop just as with any other staffing agency.
Restore NYC will encourage participation by funding three months of employee training to help minimize risk and the cost of training new employees. Clients will also be enrolled in ESL and other supportive programming to minimize language and cultural barriers.
SUPPORTIVE SERVICES PEER GROUP LEARNING & HEALING To ensure that survivors have the support they need to find and stay in good jobs, our supportive services will provide these women with six months of training and peer support/counseling to develop the following skills: • Workforce readiness, including resume development, interviewing skills, an introduction to labor laws, etc. • Life skills, including basic budgeting, time management, communications tools, etc. • Trauma recovery, including self-care techniques, individual and group counseling, access to mentor networks, and more.
SUPPORTIVE SERVICES How will we create an environment for survivor-based employment support? Support will be culturally relevant and traumainformed. Learning and healing will be based in community (i.e., peer groups of four, individualized coaching, a network of mentors that includes both survivors and professionals). It will be customized to various degrees of trauma and experiences.
Support will also offer systematic and opportunistic windows for confidence and trustbuilding. After six months, groups are encouraged to continue to meet and participate in other programs that give back to the community. Through these on-going gatherings and the growing communities, survivor-led initatives and leadership will emerge.
“
Learning and healing will be based in community.
HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE?
6-12
months
We’ll begin with a 6-12 month pilot program for a small group of clients. From there, our goal is that every one of the 300 women we serve each year would have access to this program and secure a job.
WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOK LIKE?
100% will have access to safe and sustainable work. Our goal is that at the completion of our Supportive Services Curriculum and within a year of starting the Economic Empowerment Program, each of these women will be employed and/or have strong referrals for employment. We track our work so we can show proven indicators of growth in mental, physical, financial, and spiritual wellbeing.
WHAT WILL IT COST?
150K to launch this new program*
$110,000: Start-up costs for the Workers’ Cooperative Staffing Agency $40,000: Training stipends and/or employer incentives *Detailed business plan available upon request.
= $150,000
WHY RESTORE NYC? Experienced Team: Restore NYC is a nationally recognized leader in serving exploited women. We have a 85% success rate in our Safehome Program for connecting each Safehome Graduate with a job before her graduation. This is largely due to our unique team of experienced counselors, social workers, researchers, and business professionals
who have training from top schools and years of practical work experience at leading nonprofits and companies. Trust with Clients: Trust is difficult to measure and demonstrate, but we believe that our knowledgeable staff, hospitality, and individual care are some of the reasons why survivors trust us to share their
deepest pains and needs. build trust together. If these women refer other women, we think that is In our Economic Empowerment Program, the best metric of trust. all the members will be former women from our Outreach or Safehome program, which will allow us to continue to
Diversity and Depth of Partnerships: We’ve also worked hard to build trust with our broader network of influential donors, business leaders, law enforcement officers (federal and local), service providers (national and local, across all services), and experts (legal, social, and enterprise) through a spirit of responsiveness, mutual support, and understanding.
We cannot do what we do alone, and we are grateful for such dedicated, high-impact partners, mutual support, and understanding.
WHY RESTORE NYC?
THE TAKEAWAY When these women find safe, financially stable jobs, they break the chains of bondage. Through a healthy vocation and supportive community, they are able to provide for themselves and their children—and in doing so, these women set up the next generation to be free from exploitation. When women work, generations are cared for.
Will you join us?
Restore NYC’s mission is to end sex trafficking in New York and restore the well-being and independence of foreign national survivors.
restorenyc.org