OUR STRATEGY
Poiema fights human trafficking through the following initiatives: Education, Community Engagement, and Survivor Empowerment.
1. Educate - To date, we have educated more than 33,000 people about the dangers of human trafficking through our prevention education program. We speak to teachers, students, counselors, nurses, doctors, foster parents, staff who work with at-risk youth, law enforcement, churches, rotary clubs, etc.
2. Engage - Engaging the public to be eyes and ears in the community and identify human trafficking victims is essential to ending this modern-day slavery. Poiema has over 600 active volunteers involved in community outreach. Each Saturday, volunteers from one of our sixteen campuses distribute posters of missing minors throughout the metroplex. They visit hotels, truck stops, DART rail stations, first responders, etc. More than 570 locations receive posters. In partnership with 4theONE, more than 460 children have been recovered and sadly, more than half were already victims of sex trafficking or sexual exploitation.
3. Empower - Poiema has a Safe House where we provide the support necessary for survivors of human trafficking to overcome their abuse. The success of our Safe House program depends on the support of our volunteers. Opportunities to serve include helping with home maintenance projects, interacting with the residents through mentoring, game nights, or teaching one of our many classes: exercise, art, nutrition, cooking, and life skills. We also support girls/women who are still trapped in “the life”.
DID YOU KNOW?
According to a study by the Safe House Project, 80% of human trafficking survivors who do NOT have a safe place to heal from their trauma are re-victimized.
This is what makes the work we do a crucial component of any survivor's healing and restoration journey. Your financial gifts provide for the counseling, transportation, safety (alarm system monitoring, etc.), and daily household needs (food, bills, etc.) for each of our residents, as well as the staffing necessary to care for and support each survivor along the way.
Human trafficking isn't something that happens "over there" somewhere to people who simply should have known better. The victims of trafficking are our neighbors, our friends, those among us who are most vulnerable to promises of safety and a better life, and those who made the mistake of trusting the people they should have been able to trust.
This month, we'll share some of their stories and invite you to consider how every dollar you give fights for their freedom.
The Poiema Foundation educates the public and raises awareness in order to prevent sexual abuse, sex trafficking, and other methods of sexual exploitation. Poiema also operates a safe house where survivors of human trafficking receive long-term, trauma informed care. We facilitate the restoration journey of women by providing for their physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual needs.
Over the last year, we have worked hard to identify and remove any barriers survivors may have faced when seeking care at our Safe House.
NEW STAFFING MODEL - We have developed and begun hiring for a new model that ensures our residents have access to caring and supportive staff 24/7. This allows us to accept residents who are MUCH earlier in their healing journey and allows them to begin that journey as quickly as possible.
NEW CURRICULUM OF CARE - We have hired a Licensed Master Social Worker to help revise our daily programming to ensure that our residents have the time and space to engage in the necessary deep-healing work of addressing their trauma. This new curriculum includes an array of therapeutic practices (art, equine, group) all aimed at uncovering and mending our residents' deepest wounds.
NEW PARTNERSHIPS - When we accept survivors who are earlier in their healing journey, we also need to surround them with a community of support - a community of medical providers, mental health professionals, and volunteers - who can walk arm in arm with them during the darkest days and nights.
NEEDS:
Financial Support: All of this work to remove barriers to care at our Safe House adds nearly $100,000 to our annual operating budget, money we hope you will help us raise, to ensure we can continue to offer the high-level care our residents so desperately need.
Staffing: We are HIRING! We are on the lookout for women who are willing to commit to one night per week, or one weekend per month, to be present with the residents at our Safe House. These are not clinical positions, so no experience is required; our night and weekend support staff are simply asked to be a comforting presence and to quickly alert our full-time staff should any needs arise.
Partners: We are still growing our network of support for our residents, so if you or someone you know operate a practice (medical, dental, mental health, etc.) that would be interested in partnering with us, please let us know!
Poiema does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, religion, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to: hiring and firing of staff, selection of volunteers and vendors, and provision of services. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, clients, volunteers, and vendors.
Organization name
Poiema Foundation
Causes
Human Trafficking & Exploitation
Operating Budget
$500,000 - $999,999
Counties Served
Grayson, Wise, Tarrant, Somervell, Rockwall, Parker, Palo Pinto, Navarro, Montague, Kaufman, Johnson, Hunt, Hood, Fannin, Erath, Ellis, Denton, Dallas, Cooke, Collin
BIPOC Serving
Other, Native American, Hispanic or Latinx, Asian/Pacific Islander, Black or African American
BIPOC Leadership
Neither/None
Address
PO Box 757