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Since 2007, the National Human Trafficking Hotline has identified 164,839 victims of human trafficking. Of those identified, the vast majority of victims are women and girls who were coerced into sex trafficking, and once extracted, often lack trauma-informed therapy and long-term housing for their recovery.
For instance, each year the U.S. Department of State reports “insufficient access to housing, including transitional housing and long-term housing options for trafficking victims.” And in their 2021 report, “advocates reported even more drastic lack of access to housing . . . coupled with increased assistance requests.”
Pennsylvania is not exempt from the housing shortage for survivors of human trafficking. The fact is, there are far more victims than there are beds available.
Now more than ever, survivors need a safe home and community to find peace, joy, and rest. This is why Greenlight Operation desires to provide a safe haven to survivors through a long-term residential program in the greater Harrisburg area. Our home will house 6 women for 12+ months, and upon arrival, survivors will be enrolled in a restoration program, which will provide individualized, comprehensive care. This will include trauma therapy, counseling, access to medical and dental care, and courses that equip each woman to live an independent and sustainable life.
In 2018, Greenlight Operation launched with a mission to strategically combat human trafficking through educational initiatives and serve sex trafficked women through a continuum of restorative care. We believe both prevention and restoration are vital to holistically combat the issue of human trafficking.
Greenlight Operation has hosted over 140 speaking engagements, and built a strong and trustworthy presence within the greater Harrisburg area. Now that we have a firm foundation within our community, we are ready to launch into the next phase of our restoration home project.
We have a beautiful house that we are renovating, which will serve as our restoration home. Below are the steps we are taking to prepare our home for opening.
Our projects include:
While the home is in overall great condition, some of these projects are required to be completed before we can house survivors by our insurance provider and/or the township. Our goal is to finish these projects before we have residents in order to avoid disruptions to the household and the programming.
If you would like to schedule a service day or are a professional who would like to serve with us, please email info@greenlightoperation.org.
For the protection of our team and residents, we will have a professional security and fire system in place. We are raising the funds needed to install these necessary systems.
As we wrap up our bigger projects, we will begin accepting new and/or gently used furniture items, appliances, linens, toiletries, etc. to prepare our home for our residents.
We are grateful to have onboarded a Residential Program Director who will oversee our residential team. Because our home will offer 24/7 care to survivors, we must ensure we have the proper personnel in place for supervision and service provision before opening. As we meet our fundraising goals, our next steps will involve hiring part-time restoration coaches who will invest in our future residents.
Our team completed over 180 hours of in-person training with The Samaritan Women Institute for Shelter Care to lay a firm foundation for the opening of our restoration home. The Institute has helped organizations throughout the nation successfully launch shelters that serve survivors of human trafficking.
We want to ensure we are providing the best care to our residents. To do that, Greenlight Operation is prioritizing training all new staff members in what we have learned so our program is not just led by good intentions, but experience, professional insight, and accountability.
Who best to pour into our program than survivors themselves? We are currently vetting survivor advocates to join our survivor advisory board.
Greenlight Operation is a newly incorporated 501(c)(3) and is in the process of filing its 1023. For now, Christian Life Assembly provides operational support to Greenlight Operation, such as our giving platform. Your donations are 100% tax-deductible and go toward Greenlight Operation’s mission.
Have more questions? Contact us.