Recovery doesn't stop once a survivor graduates from Grace House. What happens when our survivor sisters re-enter a world where there are temptations, triggers, and stressors, and what can we do to help them sustain their independent lives? Read on to learn more about Aftercare...
Read moreBecome a Community Partner
Though we are not all in the line of work which allows us to directly aid the lives of the women who have survived human trafficking, there are many other ways everyone can empower them. We are firm believers in community partnership, where other individuals, organizations, and businesses can develop a relationship with us in which they can provide the women we serve with their own services or donations. To start off this new year, we would like to introduce to our supporters how their independent businesses can become community partners with Alabaster Jar Project.
Making your small business become a community partner with AJP involves creating a special arrangement with us where a portion of your revenue benefits our organization. We currently have several community partners in our hometown, San Diego. Here are some of the ways they are helping us:
Cute Cakes – Escondido, Ca
Cute Cakes is an independent bakery cafe located in Escondido of North County, San Diego, where friends can enjoy original homemade baked goods and hand-crafted cafe beverages. This month, you can support us by purchasing a Chai Latte Cake or their Cinnamon Bun Cupcake. Yum!
Painting with a Twist – San Diego, Ca
Painting with a Twist is an entertainment-based art class which encourages friends and groups to come out together and learn how to be the best painter they never thought they could be with a helpful staff of friendly, professional artists in a relaxed and fun environment. This January 21st through January 30th, you can support us by using the code JARPROJECT when you book an evening in their studio for their Painting with a Purpose event. 25% of all reservations with this code will support us.
If you are interested in becoming a community partner with us, please visit our website or contact us through our facebook page. We would love to share with you how your business can be a part of our mission!
If you are not a small business owner or service provider, we encourage you to participate in some of the fundraisers above as well as many others coming up this season, including the golf tournament next month in Rancho Bernardo.
As always, thank you for your prayers and support.
Written by Amanda Moon Ellevis
Human Trafficking in SD - Within the Boundaries of our Borders →
When our survivor advocate community members talk to fellow San Diegans about what a huge problem human trafficking is in our area, the response they receive is sometimes, “Oh yeah, with being so close to the border and all.” Although international human trafficking is very much a reality, we must not forget that sexual exploitation often happens within the boundaries of our borders.
Perhaps one of the most important issues to be aware of this Human Trafficking Awareness Month is that human trafficking is happening now, in San Diego, to women and children who were born and raised here, as were their abusers. Because of the fictional depictions of human trafficking in film and television that we are often exposed to, our public may be led to believe that all victims of trafficking abuse are kidnapped by force and subsequently encaged or chained, often in foreign countries. The more common scenario — a predator’s long-term coercion and indoctrination, based on targeting a victim’s vulnerabilities, and exploiting them for financial gain while feigning a personal or romantic relationship — is perhaps too close to home for many of us to believe. The more aware our community is of this truth, the more likely we are to correcting the problem, even in our own hometown.
Before we take the United States-Mexico border into consideration, here are a few factors that contribute to SD’s human trafficking epidemic:
San Diego, when compared to cities like Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles, is fairly new and newly developed. Although many San Diegans are crusading against it, law enforcement’s crack-down on prostitution in San Diego is pale in comparison to other major cities simply because we are fairly young. San Diego is also much smaller than many other major cities . Human traffickers sometimes see smaller metropolitan areas as great location opportunities to fly under the radar of police supervision.
There is a huge gap between the rich and the poor in SD. We are home to 1% communities like La Jolla as well as home to National City, where more than 20% of citizens live below the poverty line. In areas where there is that huge gap, prostitution tends to thrive.
San Diego is A) a convention center city who hosts SD Comic Con, B) home to several major sports teams, and C) we are a port city with several military bases. These are all factors that unfortunately attract sex buyers and sex traffickers. (Gates, Carpenter)
The good news is that Alabaster Jar Project, like many groups in San Diego, is not only fighting to raise awareness about this issue in order to end it, but we are also striving to serve the women who have been affected by it and are seeking help. By offering our unique variety of services to restore, rehabilitate, and empower survivors of human trafficking and sexual exploitation, we are constantly providing more opportunities for them to live sustainable, independent lives. Please stay tuned to this blog and our FaceBook page to learn about our upcoming opportunities to help us in our mission to aid survivors. Thank you for your prayers and support.
written by Amanda Moon Ellevis
Sources cited from:
Gates, J., & Carpenter, A. (2016). The Nature and Extent of Gang Involvement in Sex Trafficking. San Diego: Point Loma Nazarene University; University of San Diego,
https://datausa.io/profile/geo/national-city-ca/
https://statisticalatlas.com/neighborhood/California/San-Diego/La-Jolla/Household-Income
http://www.citymayors.com/gratis/uscities_100.html
Cyntonia Brown
Imagine being told at sixteen years old that all you will ever amount to in life is to be a prostitute. Imagine that the person who told you this is the only person in your life whom you feel you can trust, and not only does he tell you this over and over until it becomes your inner manta, but all the struggles you have faced in your young life — being in and out of the foster care system, surviving early childhood abuse, having an undiagnosed learning disability which makes excelling in education very challenging, among many other adversities — lead you to believe this lie. Though up to this point, you have never had a stable, secure home life, you now find yourself surrounded by crime and violence, both as a witness and as a victim, until violence becomes extraordinarily… Normal?
Unfortunately, this scenario is fairly common for survivors of human trafficking, and often, this tragedy can result in ruining the lives of many, not just the survivor herself. This is what happened to Cyntonia Brown. As you may have recently seen in the media, Cyntonia Brown, a survivor in Tennessee, had been convicted of murdering a sex buyer, was tried as an adult due to the severity of the crime, and was originally sentenced to 51 years in prison. This Monday marked a victory for Ms. Brown when the governor of Tennessee granted her clemency. She will be released on parole this August.
While it may be difficult to empathize with any perpetrator of a violent crime, our survivor advocate community sees Ms. Brown first and foremost as a victim of lifelong abuse which climaxed when she was sold into sexual slavery in her teen years. We are committed to restoring, rehabilitating, and empowering survivors, and often their pasts echo Ms. Brown’s. Though we will never condone violence as the answer to their problems, it is difficult for us to vilify Cyntonia when we see first hand the pain and suffering that many women like her face. It is horrifying to watch victims of crimes become perpetrators of crimes and make decisions that cause permanent damage. We are praying this doesn’t happen again.
No one can undo what Ms. Brown has done by any means. What we can do is continue to serve the survivor community with our unique variety of services at Alabaster Jar Project, providing all sexual exploitation survivors with options to sustainable and independent lifestyles in the hopes of having less cases like Ms. Brown’s which result in violence and more victories that end in triumph and empowerment. What YOU can do is become a part of our mission by continuing to support us, so please stay tuned by following this blog and our facebook page for many upcoming opportunities to help the survivors of your community. Thank you for your prayers and support.
written by Amanda Moon Ellevis
Christmas for Survivors
December is here! During this time of year, it’s easy to get lost in the smell of pine trees and cinnamon, old familiar carols, and the joy of bundling up to weather the cold. Our team holds the special season as a promise of hope and peace that will carry us and the women we serve through the new year. Though many of us feel blessed by the festivities that come with this season, this can be a very difficult time of year for some, and survivors of human trafficking are no exception.
The majority of women who have been sex trafficked are exploited through the entire holiday season without any days off. Even after these women gain the courage to restore their lives in our rehabilitation program, they often find themselves consequently separated from their family, loved ones, and children. They may still bear these emotional scars from their trauma and find it hard to join in the festivities going on around them.
While still honoring the courageous steps they are taking to fight through their trauma, we make it a priority to make their Christmastime with us special and memorable. We do this in many ways. We host a yearly tree-decorating party at Grace House and make both Grace House and our Drop-In Resource Center festive, lively, and warm with the proper holiday trimmings. One of the most important things we do is we hold an annual Christmas party for all of our San Diego survivor community, not only inviting Grace House residents but also graduates of our program and other survivors who seek our services. We sing Christmas carols, enjoy a holiday meal, share gifts, and honor the fellowship which we strive so hard to foster.
If you would like to be a part of our survivor sisters’ holiday, we encourage you to message us on FaceBook where we can direct you to holiday volunteer opportunities including but not limited to gift giving and shopping for our survivor sisters’ Christmas wishes and those of their young children. As always, you are welcome to visit our donate page where donations of any size can contribute to making this holiday and new year special for our sisters. Though the holidays can be a difficult time to the community of survivors in San Diego, this is a great opportunity for us (and for you!) to help change their narrative from broken to loved and empowered, providing them with a sense of belonging, community, and family that they may have never experienced.
Thank you for your continued prayers for our survivor sisters this holiday season. We hope to make this their best Christmas yet!
written by Amanda Moon Ellevis
Depression: Mental Health for Survivors
When our survivor sisters take the first step in their recovery by leaving their abusers or unhealthy lifestyle behind, the battle is not over. In fact, it has barely begun. At our Grace House Residential Program, we have created a safe space for new survivors to deal with trauma in a healthy way, and though we’ve learned that a safe space is key to further development, there are many steps they must take towards success. When they take each step while dealing with debilitating set backs from their trauma, the road becomes rocky.
It’s no secret that human trafficking survivors face mental health issues, but it may be surprising to some how they affect the women we serve specifically. One of the common mental illnesses that our survivors face is depression. Although we all feel the blues from time to time, a clinical diagnosis of depression goes beyond feeling sad when a depressed patient’s low moods and motivation interferes with their daily life. They may feel helpless, hopeless, unable to focus on basic tasks, and ideate or even attempt suicide, which can make it hard to function at all.
Though trauma from sexual exploitation can be a main contributor to clinical depression, we have found that survivors can have this diagnosis before they are ever trafficked or exploited. We must look at why they enter any abusive lifestyle in the first place. Depression can be caused by many forms of trauma and pain, including poverty, early childhood abuse, struggles to fill their basic needs, loss of loved ones, and lack of a strong support system. All these factors and more can make anyone vulnerable, and when a depressed person already feels a sense of isolation from their community, they become an easy target for abusers.
This common case unfortunately leads to a cycle of depression: A clinically depressed woman without a strong support system who also suffers from financial setbacks can fall victim to exploitation, and the abuse they suffer from exploitation deepens their struggle with depression as they continue to be exploited in order to maintain their needs and a false sense of community and belonging. When these women take the first courageous step by leaving their abuser and unhealthy lifestyle to rebuild their life in our program, they are already long overdue for mental health services and need all the support they can get.
We strongly believe that in order to nurture healthy development, healing must start in the home environment. On top of providing all necessary referrals to mental health services and case management, we have created a safe space at our Grace House Residential Program where the women we serve are surrounded by mentors, healthy support, and do not have to worry about having their basic needs met. As they get all the necessary tools for healing, we have watched our survivor sisters grow from extremely traumatized victims of abuse to strong individuals who can then support each other and work with our team to nurture the safe atmosphere at Grace House. Although our method is effective, it is not always easy for trauma survivors, but when our goal is to restore, rehabilitate, and empower our sisters, we hold healing from depression and other mental illnesses as an important priority.
Please continue to pray for our women battling depression and other mental health diagnoses. We always strive to do our best to nurture a safe and healthy environment for them, and in spite of their struggles, our sisters are doing all they can to rebuild their lives.
written by Amanda Moon Ellevis
Online Auction - November 4-11
As we have previously announced, our online auction for this holiday season is offered through Charity Auctions Today and will be live from November 4th through the 11th. One hundred percent of the proceeds from this auction will benefit Alabaster Jar Project’s mission to restore, rehabilitate, and empower the lives of survivors of human trafficking in our San Diegan community. All of the items offered in this auction are exciting and valuable, consisting of a variety of luxury experiences that are great gift ideas for the upcoming holidays. Here are some of the highlights:
Food and Wine Weekend in Napa Valley with Winemaker
Enjoy a luxury weekend at a Napa winery with Tim Bacino, an Award-winning sixth generation winemaker. Included in this package are two farm-to-table dinners by renowned Napa chefs as well as two farm-to-table lunches, tours of the areas best wineries and barrel tastings as well as meetings with the area’s legendary wine-making elite, VIP status at Tim’s tasting room, VIP reception, VIP chauffeuring to and from the tasting rooms, and of course 3-nights stay at one of two of Napa’s finest resorts. The value of this package is estimated at $5,000 per guest.
Two Month All-Inclusive Membership to Curves (Women’s health club)
This two-month membership to Curves women’s health club includes 30-minute workouts designed to burn up to 500 calories using both strength training and aerobic exercises for two months, service fee, and specialized counseling in their Curves Complete program.
South African Safari Package for Two Hunters
The winners of this prize will enjoy six full days of safari hunting with their very own professional hunter in environments where ethical, legal, and sustainable hunting is practiced. Included with the expedition is luxury lodging with wifi, complete transportation from the hunt to the lodging, chef services for three meals per day, and much more.
Emerald Isle Executive Golf Course - Round of Golf for Two players
Offered here is a round of golf in an Oceanside golf course for two players. The course featured is an executive 18-hole playing field featuring championship quality greens and an all-grass driving range with instruction provided by PGA professionals.
Other prizes include:
$25 Senor Grubby’s Certificate
Dream Dinners Experience Package
One Month of Swim Lessons
One Hour Sports Medicine Fitness Training with Chris Capistran
Elite New Zealand Red Stag Hunting Package for Two
And much more.
Save the date: Nov. 4-11th. We hope to see you participate!
written by Amanda Moon Ellevis
Here’s our Why: Four Big Reasons to Support Us
Because it takes many helping hands to implement all we do for the women we serve, we have spent the last few weeks sharing with you some of our upcoming fundraisers and donation opportunities. Next month marks both the start of our online auction at Charity Auctions Today, where we will auction off donated items and use the funds for our mission, and Giving Tuesday, where your holiday donations can be matched by your employer and other businesses, including Facebook , which promises to match up to seven million dollars in donations this year. This week, we would like to share with you our why: Out of all the charities you can support, why should you support and donate to Alabaster Jar Project?
Alabaster Jar Project’s mission is to restore, rehabilitate, and empower the lives of survivors of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. We do this by implementing special services we have designed though partnering with survivors and using their expertise to promote the success of all the women we serve. This is never an easy road for survivors, so we provide them with all the necessary steps it takes to reach independence.
Here are some BIG reasons why you should support us:
Alabaster Jar Project provides a Drop-In Resource Center which is essential to the San Diegan community.The Center provides basic emergency services for survivors, including providing both fresh and non-perishable foods, second-hand clothing, baby items, hygiene items, and much needed referrals to medical attention and case management. We also use our Center to host meetings and groups, like our weekly support group where we provide a safe space for the survivors in our community to share in fellowship and support each other as they work towards recovery.
Our Grace House Residential Program produces successful graduates. The survivors who come into our housing program often come to us with major psychological disorders, substance abuse addictions, and without any income. We do all we can to make sure these women get back on track in spite of all their adversities and become productive, financially independent, and empowered members of society. Our residential program has a 93% success rate. 93% of the women we serve at Grace House either graduate our program or go on to pursue other programs continuing a healthy cycle of recovery. That’s a lot to be grateful for!
Alabaster Jar Project employs survivors. We have a small staff that is made of more than 50% of women who have survived sexual exploitation and trafficking. These women take on responsibilities including Grace House Residential management, social media management, client care, grant proposal writing, support group facilitation, and marketing and journalistic services. We believe that by providing our survivor sisters with both income opportunities and leadership roles, we can not only ensure that our Grace House residents can get a head start on the path to independence, but they are also provided with expert advice on the successful rehabilitation, restoration, and empowerment of new survivors.
Alabaster Jar Project empowers the survivor voice. Our personnel consults regularly with survivor leaders, including Autumn Burris and Marjorie Saylor, whom we hold as experts in rehabilitation from human trafficking and sexual exploitation. We also firmly believe in feedback from our program participants and host evaluations from all clients every 90 days. We believe that by consulting with the women we serve and our own survivor leaders, we can provide the best services possible in the best possible ways.
Recovery from sexual exploitation is not an easy path, and we cannot facilitate it without all our survivor sister’s hard work in our program. We simply provide them with the stepping stones for them to reach empowerment, independence, and the chance at living their best life. Please consider our organization during this season of giving. We are doing all we can to help our San Diegan survivor community
Season of Giving
The holidays are approaching. We have some exciting things in store to help our organization’s efforts in empowering the lives of survivors, and YOU are invited!
As we have said before, Giving Tuesday is an opportunity for you to sponsor us directly. On this day, many employers and businesses will match your donations to us as we are registered on the Giving Tuesday website: https://www.givingtuesday.org/. This is a great way to get yourself into the giving spirit of the holidays and impact the women we serve.
We are also excited to announce our online silent auction at Charity Auctions Today from November 4th through November 11th. You can view our page on the website by clicking here . We are auctioning some awesome prizes, including luxury hotel stays with couples’ massages and all inclusive winery experiences, exotic hunting packages, gym memberships, and much more. Not only is this a fun way to be a part of our mission, and not only are some of these prizes great gift ideas for loved ones on the upcoming holidays, but by participating in our auction, you can directly impact the lives of our survivor sisters. We will provide you with a more in depth look at the prizes and the auction itself in the upcoming weeks. Save the date! November 4-11.
Visit the “donate” link on our official website. We list several small and several large recurring donations you can make to match the needs of our survivors, ranging from $20 for basic daily needs to $2,000 for full monthly sponsorship. Every amount of help you can give, be it in the form of monthly donations or a one-time donation to our holiday fundraisers, has the potential to make a huge impact on the lives of survivors in our own San Diegan community.
Thank you for your continued support in our efforts to restore, rehabilitate, and empower survivors of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Our women are always working hard to rebuild their lives. It is a blessing to serve them, and we can’t do it without your partnership.
Survivor Update
Through both their triumphs and their struggles, our survivor sisters inspire us by continuing to persevere, pushing towards all that life has to offer them in becoming independent, strong women who are completely self-sufficient. The residents of Grace House, our long-term housing program, have the opportunity to get themselves on a fast track to independence, and all of them are working hard to achieve their goals. Here are some of the highlights:
- One of our survivor sisters is in the process of completing classes in order to obtain her high school diploma. She is taking general education courses at the local community college and is also taking a hip-hop dance class where she is excelling. Physical education can be extremely beneficial to a survivor’s healing, and the joy this class brings her is shared by all of us on her team.
- Our newest Grace House resident arrived at the end of August and is on fire for her recovery! She is enrolled in an outpatient program where she receives group counseling on a daily basis as well as one-on-one counseling. This is a great start to her time at Grace House and she continues to exhibit a positive attitude towards her rehabilitation.
- One of our Grace House residents has taken advantage of our Broken to Beautiful program where we take broken or damaged jewelry and allow our women to refurbish it into completely new, original works of art. She has truly excelled in her craft and makes beautiful pieces that are available for purchase. Not only is crafting a therapeutic activity for her, but this also has the potential to be a business opportunity. Not every survivor is a good candidate for a traditional nine-to-five job because of the strong aftereffects of their trauma, so our hope is that this can eventually provide her with a sustainable income which can put her one the path to independence.
- We are happy to report that one of our Grace House residents has successfully graduated from our program and is doing well in her new home with her new job. We are so blessed that she was able to complete our program and is now in a great position to use all the necessary skills she has learned from us. We will certainly miss her, but we are grateful to see her walk in faith in her independent journey.
Though we are very proud of all that our women have accomplished, we recognize the struggles they face as well. Through all their achievements, our women are still battling depression, anxiety, and the overwhelming symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. We invite you to pray for them and their health, as our newest resident still does not have health insurance. This is a great opportunity for them to take the necessary steps to self fulfillment, so any prayers for their recovery will be greatly appreciated.
We are so grateful for your support in each of our survivor sisters’ unique journeys. Though each path is completely different from the next, all of the women we serve continue to work their recovery with the same amount of drive, effort, and hope. We can’t wait to update you again soon!
Update: Project SEEN, September 2018
A few weeks ago, we promised an update on Project SEEN, a collaborative creative expression class presented by Shyne San Diego, where survivors are invited to share their talents and business ideas with the goal of changing the narrative surrounding sexual exploitation from broken to remarkable. We are proud to report that SEEN has completed two four-session courses and the women have unleashed some ambitious endeavors that prove to be potential business opportunities. As the number one issue that SEEN addresses is the need to earn income, especially because survivors often suffer from financial abuse, the course has inspired the women to start their own businesses and take other steps towards becoming self sufficient.
Cynthia Luvlee, CEO of Shyne San Diego who’s brainchild is Project SEEN, has a unique vision for survivor collaboration and rehabilitation. As the host of the project and head of the business portion of the class, Luvlee has witnessed first-hand how the class has affected its participants. “The way that I’ve seen it affect them is connection to possibility,” she states. “They have really grown, come out of their shell, being more expressive, creative. Part of what we do is we foster a group that is safe.” Not only does SEEN inspire survivors to set goals and achieve them, it also assists Alabaster Jar Project with fostering a close-knit group of survivors who support each other where their voices can be heard and understood.
As we reported before, SEEN is a four-part class where they are mentored in their creative endeavors by Bethany Kelly, a professional publisher and author, Michelle Zousmer, a humanitarian photographer, and Luvlee herself, who specializes in business. The course is freeform and allows for the women to take the class in the direction they choose in order to work towards their goals.
The women who have participated in Project SEEN are on the path to achieve a variety of goals, including photography and photo editing, jewelry making, biography composition, spoken word, and a number of other business ventures. This is a great opportunity for women in our program and other survivors to gain professional expertise in order to pursue their dreams and take important steps towards independence. “When we look at survivor issues, we address at the core that they can be independent successful business women,” Luvlee declared. “That’s the greatest barrier on freedom.”
Project SEEN will have a public showcase at the end of the year where the women’s work, unique business services, and talent endeavors will be available for exhibition and sale. We can’t wait to update you again soon on the progress of Project Seen participants, their event, and their projects.
Amygdala Hijacking – Peer Led Support Group
Our weekly Survivor Support Group at the Resource Center is special because it is completely peer-led and peer-operated. In addition to being facilitated by survivors of exploitation, support group participants also help in the set-up, break down, and general organization for the time we host for them. Because this group provides a safe haven from the world that so often misunderstands or judges those who have endured what our women have, participants are also invited to share with the group on topics they have studied that prove to be influential to all attendees. Our group discusses many subjects surrounding rehabilitation, including emotional recovery from trauma, personal boundaries, faith’s role in recovery, but most recently, our group was honored to host a presentation by Sarah, one of our group participants, who has illustrated how PTSD impacts the brain and how to heal from it in the moment it affects them. Way to go, Sarah!
Sarah’s topic of choice was Amygdala Hijacking, a process in the brain which triggers a fight or flight fear-based response that is overwhelmingly out-of-proportion to the stimulus because one has lived through repeated or constant trauma in their past. Survivors who are being exploited often face life-threatening situations on a daily basis, but this still can be extremely damaging even when they have left exploitation and are rebuilding their lives. What may seem trivial to a layperson may trigger an enormous response in a PTSD diagnosed survivor, which can impact their ability to function. But not only did Sarah’s presentation define what Amygdala Hijacking is; it also offered a solution to this fear-based response, including a step-by-step guide to talking one’s self out of fight or flight.
Because Sarah’s presentation was so well received by the group, our facilitators have chosen a new curriculum developed by a christian neuroscientist, Dr. Caroline Leaf, which explains the process of learning new material effectively and how to literally “switch on your brain.” “It’s been proven that in high stress situations and different forms of torture and manipulation, human being’s brains are drastically affected to a physical point of damage,” says Sarah. “I believe a group that is so focused on emotional health needs a scientific balance of how they feel and also what their body is doing in relation to the traumas they endured.” This is especially important for survivors of sex trafficking and exploitation, as the specific trauma they face can be devastating. “We live within our bodies everyday and traffickers usually teach us to numb ourselves and pretend we don’t have a body AND emotions. They train us to stop noticing our emotions and stop knowing what damage is being done. It’s our job once free to reverse this damage, I believe.”
Sarah has a point: though our group can learn about emotional healing on a weekly basis, the medical and scientific side of healing can insure that the knowledge we share has a lasting effect on survivors. “I believe that if these women were given a lead to medical care, we could address the PTSD symptoms in that place,” Sarah shares. “It’s hard to get anyone in trafficking to actually see their situation is bad. But literally everyone needs check ups. I believe if given the opportunity to have pre-paid medical check ups, this environment could serve as a place to inform them of the life they’re in and how to get free. This is where they could be given materials and direction to the groups.” Alabaster Jar Project is doing our part in this by offering medical referrals to local free clinics which can be the first step in a survivor’s healing. Science and medical attention are often the key to one’s recovery.
Sarah has become an asset to our group not only by presenting her knowledge, but also by participating in all topics over the last several months. When asked if she gets more out of group if she is sharing or listening, her answer is both. “I get equal support in my opinion because I am learning to give love and accept it,” she states. “It is a process that children learn early with healthy influence, and without it they fail to experience it. In order to have a healthy lifestyle I believe it’s my job to both give support and accept it.”
Our support group meets once a week. We start and end every group with a prayer in agreement for the Lord’s healing and protection over our group. Though this group is closed to the general public, we invite you to pray over our women with us this week and every week as our group shares their time together. This group is a close-knit, loving community and we are blessed by each and every one of them.
Giving Tuesday 2018
September is here, and now the holidays are just around the corner. After Thanksgiving in November, we are all accustomed to big blowout sales on Black Friday, where we stand in line in the wee hours of the morning to catch great deals at department stores before they open, and Cyber Monday, when online sales are at their peak. For those who have a humanitarian heart and see this season as an opportunity to give to our underserved neighborhood communities, we invite you to honor our organization by participating in Giving Tuesday, taking place on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, when we are eligible to receive donations through partnering networking services. This is a way to bring the focus for this season back to the spirit of giving and helping those in your own backyard, including the survivors of human trafficking whom we serve.
Though we welcome donations year round, Giving Tuesday is significant because as an official movement, many organizations and businesses are aware of this campaign and will offer support to the organization of your choice with you, including the willingness to match your donations to our organization. Alabaster Jar Project is registered with Benevity and Network For Good, so your donations can also be matched through these groups on Giving Tuesday.
This is a great opportunity to have a direct impact on our community this holiday season, a time that can be difficult for our women as they are often separated from their families and facing symptoms of trauma, homelessness, and are struggling to have their medical, emotional, and spiritual needs met. We are so proud of how far they have all come in spite of the struggles they face. We have celebrated two graduations from our long-term residential program this year among many other accomplishments, including financial stability repair through our Financial Health 101 program with Wells Fargo, identification restoration, baptisms, continued participation in our residential program and through our weekly support group, and long-term independence for our graduates through full time employment. Your donation to us through Giving Tuesday will not go to waste; we are helping survivors every day to rebuild their lives.
For year round assistance to our women, you are always invited to make a recurring donation through our website: alabasterjarproject.org/donate. Even a small monthly donation of 50$ can impact the lives of the women we serve on a regular basis. As always, we thank you for your continued support of our mission to restore, rehabilitate, and empower the lives of survivors of human trafficking.
Meet the Staff: Juanetta
Our residence managers for Grace House, our long-term housing program, are an irreplaceable part of the AJP team. Not only do they act as mentors to survivor residents – by guiding them in all their necessary endeavors – they are also in charge of planning, coordinating, and executing activities with them, becoming the backbone of the housing community. We are honored to have appointed Juanetta as one of our residence managers. We believe she is a great role model for our women. Juanetta is a survivor of sexual exploitation and has offered consulting services to survivors through her own personal networking. What better person to lead by example than a person who is a survivor of trauma and a consultant within the community?
Although it is not required that a survivor takes on this important role, being a survivor has its benefits when guiding new survivors on their journeys. “Being a survivor myself allows me to display empathy which opens the door of trust & respect towards each other,” Juanetta states. “We are able to encourage each other by realizing that our individual experiences are similar however very different. And although this is factual, we find a connection of understanding that allows us to forgive each other for any misunderstandings that may occur.” Since Juanetta has over ten years of freedom from exploitation, she has a strong and empathetic heart when working with the residents to rebuild their lives.
Juanetta is also a strong Christian, declaring that God’s grace has delivered her from a life of sex trafficking. To her, the most inspiring part of mentoring survivors is observing the residents discover their spirituality. “The Holy Bible tells us to no longer conform to this world but to become transformed by the renewing of our minds,” she states. “Therefore, the highlights for me are to observe the AJP guests becoming spiritually whole. I have been given the opportunity to observe the AJP guests laughing & smiling during positive social interactions. I have definitely observed the joy of the Lord strengthening them on a daily basis.”
As a survivor and consultant within the survivor community at large, Juanetta uses technology and social media to support the cause of rehabilitation after sexual exploitation. She is a supporter of Sisters of the Streets, an organization headed by Jaimee Johnson, a valued member of our staff. Through her online connection with Jaimee, she was able to apply and interview for the position of Grace House Residence Manager. This is only one example of how Juanetta uses collaboration to support the rehabilitation and empowerment of survivors. “Sex Work is a monstrous global concern in which it takes hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions of individuals to partner with each other to provide the solution to this horrific problem,” she explains. “Connecting and collaborating will offer much needed services to the population.”
We are so blessed to have Juanetta on our team. She is a caring, honest, and open mentor to our survivor sisters, and is an asset to our community.
Cut-a-thon Tomorrow!
Don’t miss out! This Sunday, Hairmony Hair Studios is hosting a Cut-A-Thon to benefit Alabaster Jar Project. It’s simple: receive a haircut by one of their awesome stylists and one hundred percent of the proceeds will go to AJP. Haircut prices are as follows:
$10 for a shaved head
$15 for children’s cuts
$20 for men’s cuts
$35 for women’s cuts
In addition to the price of your cut, twenty percent of the proceeds from product sales (hair and skin care products) will also benefit Alabaster Jar Project. What a great way to look and feel great and still make a difference in the lives of our survivors!
To book an appointment for August 26th, call (858) 353-2350. Walk in appointments are also welcome. Hairmony Hair Studio is located at 11650 Iberia Place, Suite 120, San Diego, 92128. We’ll see you there. Have fun!
Equine Therapy for Survivors →
This summer, the Grace House residents took a roadtrip to the Medicine Horse Ranch where they camped together and were introduced to equine therapy. It was a healing experience for them to interact with gentle giants and support each other in their own personal journey. Our team is committed to offering a variety of support services to our survivor sisters in order to equip them with well-rounded healing. We were honored to have the ranch share this experience with them.
Equine therapy, or the caring of, tending to, and interacting with horses for the purpose of personal healing, is known to be an extremely effective form of therapy for those suffering from many of the trauma symptoms that survivors of human trafficking and sexual exploitation endure during recovery. Since horses are animals of prey, they rely on their keen senses for their survival, reflecting the way survivors may have survived abuse and life-threatening situations. They are known to mirror human reactions, meeting positive emotions with their own positive reactions, and give the participants their own version of unsaid feedback.
Often in equine therapy, horses may not be ridden or tethered to a barrier and are allowed to roam freely within the arena. Because of the significant difference in size from humans to horses, participants must act calmly and use nonverbal communication to safely and effectively tend to the horse. Activities start very small and simply, with first learning only how to approach the horse, and can escalate into walking the horse, grooming the horse, or even riding the horse.
Equine therapy has been proven to improve confidence and the overall mental health of its participants. Even if a participant is initially fearful of horses, they are guided on how to safely interact with them until they are doing so all by themselves. Hopelessness that one can experience after trauma can turn into a certainty that they are, in fact, a very capable human being, simply by caring for the horse. The energy that used to be focused on ruminating depression or aggression towards the unfamiliar is instead focused toward caring, nurturing activities with their new animal friend.
We are so grateful that the women we serve were able to participate in this innovative and healing therapy for a whole weekend. We are passionate about many forms of healing, so we hope this unique step in their journey will have a lasting impact on their mental health and wellbeing.
Financial Health for Survivors
Our team at Alabaster Jar Project believes that having a well-rounded approach to healing is the key to having a long-term impact on the lives of our survivor sisters. Though we do all we can to promote their emotional, mental, and physical health by providing a survivor led support group, a long-term residential program, references to partnering social services providers, among many other important components to success, our work is not done there. A crucial part to a survivor’s overall wellbeing is to provide them with financial knowledge and budgeting know-how in order to completely take control of their own finances. For that reason, we have partnered with Wells Fargo to present a weekly workshop that will immerse our survivor sisters in the steps it takes to reach financial health. We’re calling it “Financial Health 101.”
This workshop features weekly presentations by local Wells Fargo bankers that will highlight different important topics, including budgeting, saving, credit repair, and even the path to home ownership. Our goal is to prepare our survivor community for all of their individual financial responsibilities, both present and future, in order for them to reach true stability. We believe this is an invaluable and absolutely necessary step to their overall healing.
On top of attending the workshops, each participant will receive a one-on-one financial counselor from Wells fargo to assist them in their personal banking needs. This is at no cost to the survivor, with the only intention of gaining a genuine, long-term partnership with the survivors that will help them gain access to all the necessary tools they need to support themselves financially.
In almost every case, our survivor sisters come to us without any income. It is difficult enough to heal from emotional and physical wounds, that healing from a lifestyle of financial abuse is a daunting, and sometimes scary endeavor. This class can be a huge first step in the right direction towards financial stability, and ultimately, an independent, healthy lifestyle for our survivors and thrivers.
Financial Health 101 will be held at our Drop-In Resource Center every Friday at 2pm. If you are a survivor who would like to attend this course, please send us a private message at facebook.com/alabasterjarproject, or email us at info@alabasterjarproject.org
Work Opportunities for Survivors
It is a blessing to see how hard our survivor sisters work to rebuild their lives. Though we provide the necessary stepping stones for success, they must take the steps themselves, and they are absolutely taking step after step. Currently, three of our residential program participants are volunteering at local organizations and are enrolled in academic courses that will prepare them for their ultimate goal of independence. They are learning to work as a team, how to set goals and achieve them, conflict resolution techniques, among many other necessary skills they need to turn their survival into revival. They are on fire!
Although we do all we can within our organization to prepare the women we serve for a truly independent life, our survivor sisters cannot gain true independence without employment. In order to permanently leave exploitation, each survivor must generate their own income. As if it wasn’t hard enough to escape a lifestyle of exploitation and abuse, the pressure is on full-force once our women make the choice to start completely over. We might take our jobs for granted, but to a survivor, a solid, stable job can be their ticket to freedom.
Believe it or not, you may be the solution to this puzzle. If you are a business owner, offering internships for survivors may be the key step in their journey to success. The women we serve are hard working volunteers at local organizations and have used their time with us to build their knowledge of work environments, educate themselves, gain skills, and compose their resumes with valid work experience. They are, as are many new survivors, perfect candidates for your workforce.
There is an old proverb which says, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Our intention is to teach our women how to independently sustain themselves so they can have a long, fulfilling life. An invariable part of that equation is employment, and every new opportunity that becomes available for them will increase their chances of success.
We thank you for your continued support of our survivor sisters and their journeys. They remain hard-working, humble, and determined women, and we are all grateful for your prayers for their healing and success.
Cut-a-thon August 26
Come out and support!
We are excited to announce a new way to directly benefit the women we serve. Hairmony Hair Studio, a hair salon in San Diego has been kind enough to donate the proceeds from haircuts for men, women, and children to Alabaster Jar Project in full on August 26th.What a great way to look and feel great and still make a difference in the lives of our survivor sisters!
The Cut-a-Thon will feature haircuts for men, women, and children at a reasonable price by appointment or walk-in booking. One hundred percent of the proceeds from haircuts will benefit Alabaster Jar Project. Additionally, twenty percent of retail sales, including hair care and skin care products, will also benefit our organization. The prices per haircut category are as follows:
$10 for a shaved head
$15 for children’s cuts
$20 for men’s cuts
$35 for women’s cuts
We encourage you to support us in this simple act of kindness. A haircut can symbolize rebirth and taking life in a new direction, but through this cut-a-thon, it can mean much more. A new, stylish ‘do for you can mean a week’s worth of groceries for one of our survivors. When you allow our partners to serve you with a new, fabulous look, you will, in turn, serve our community.
To book an appointment for August 26th, call (858) 353-2350. Walk in appointments are also welcome. Hairmony Hair Studio is located at 11650 Iberia Place, Suite 120, San Diego, 92128. We’ll see you there. Have fun!
Day of Service - Thank You Hope for San Diego
It takes many helping hands to fulfill our mission to restore, rehabilitate, and empower the lives of survivors of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Our partners at Hope for San Diego recognize this and have added our organization to their Day of Service, where San Diego residents can volunteer to serve a number of underserved communities within the region. Last Saturday, we were lucky enough to have a hefty handful of helpers tend to our drop in Resource Center and Grace House residential program. Way to go, Hope for San Diego!
Volunteers from across the county who signed up for this day of service helped us with our garden at Grace House and outside beautification and landscaping at the Resource Center. Though it was a hot day, our SD neighbors gladly helped us renovate our outdoor areas, shared in fellowship, and helped make a difference in the home of our women.
We are so grateful to our friends at Hope for San Diego for including us in this much needed day of service! Though San Diego is widely known as a vacation hotspot and innovative area full of culture and thriving businesses, our partners know that many people in this area are suffering from abuse, homelessness and human trafficking. This day of service allows those who have a humanitarian heart to join our team for a day and help those who need it most. Our women are very special to us, and when volunteers reach out to them and show them that they care, it touches our hearts, too.
There are many ways to make a difference in the lives of our survivor sisters. To join our volunteer staff, please go to our home page and click “Join Us” on the drop-down menu, or to join Hope For San Diego’s Day of Service, visit hopeforsd.org/dayofservice.