Women's Discipleship Hope Released

For more than 21 years, City of Refuge has been bringing light, hope, and transformation to individuals, families, and communities in crisis by providing services such as housing, medical care, parenting, financial classes, and vocational training. City of Refuge has developed a process in which personal responsibility and resource provision result in a radical life-change.

In 2011, as a result of a dramatic encounter with a survivor, City of Refuge began to engage in anti-trafficking efforts for those who have experienced trafficking, exploitation, or a life in the adult entertainment industry. Over the past nearly five years, the program known as the “House of Cherith” has received 670 women and walked the road of recovery with them. In addition to the services provided all clients in crisis, House of Cherith also provides trauma-informed care, licensed social workers, and clinicians to assist the ladies on their journeys.

To date, House of Cherith has only been able to serve adult women without children or without children in their care. Separating mothers from their children while the mother receives the care she needs is heartbreaking and detrimental to both mother and child. Very few homes are available in the United States to serve this population, and we feel strongly compelled to address this issue.

In partnership with Church of God Women Ministries, House of Cherith will undertake this critical lack of housing for mothers and children with the purchase of a home, or homes, that will provide long-term recuperative care for both mother and children, many of whom will have been exploited or certainly exposed to inappropriate sexual behavior. This home will be the first of its kind launched by House of Cherith, City of Refuge, and the Church of God, and will provide a model for organizations around the country that work to confront the trafficking issue.

Together, we can provide a place of refuge, healing, and restoration for many, many mothers and children. With God’s help, we will change the future of generations to come!

GEORGIA by the numbers

As of June 2017, the National Human Trafficking Hotline Resource Center(NHTHRC) reported there were:
- 36,270 trafficking cases reported since December 2007
- 162,660 signals reported since December 2007 (Signals are phone calls, online tips, or emails received).
Traffickers in Atlanta make an average of $33,000 per week (Urban Institute).

Atlanta has been identified as one of the cities with the highest incidences of child sex trafficking (FBI, 2005; Urban Institute, 2014).
Between 200 – 400 adolescent girls are sold online per month (The Shapiro Group, 2010).
Approximately 65% of men who purchase sex with female children in Atlanta live in suburban areas outside the I-285 perimeter (The Shapiro Group, 2010)
Traffickers in Atlanta make an average of $33,000 per week (Urban Institute, 2014).
7,200 men purchase sex from a minor every month in Georgia accounting for 8,700 sex acts (The Shapiro Group, 2010).
91% of DMST victims in Georgia were enrolled in school at the time of their exploitation (Georgia Cares, 2016).

THE ISSUE by the numbers

Human trafficking is a crime and considered a form of modern-day slavery.
Over two million people are trafficked each year (Stop Trafficking Today).
The average age of a victim of human trafficking is 11-14. Homelessness and poverty makes an individual vulnerable to forced/coerced situations (Stop Trafficking Today).
40% of victims of trafficking were recruited by an immediate family member thus validating the need for additional beds as family reconciliation is often not advisable or possible.
A recent study showed the total number of beds available for trafficking victims nationwide was just under 700, with 400 of those beds in California alone. The number of beds being identified as being available for women with children was less than two-dozen.
Every month, 7,200 men purchase sex from a minor, accounting for more than 8,000 sex acts. Another study by Georgia Cares claims that more than 90 percent of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking victims in Georgia were enrolled in school at the time of their exploitation.
According to The Schapiro Group, which conducted research on prostitution and sexual exploitation, 65 percent of men who purchase sex with female children in metro Atlanta live in suburban areas.

ABOUT WWAM

Our Mission

To know Christ and make Him known; to grow in the WORD of God in order to become leaders and mentors who disciple others; to be an army of prayer warriors and intercessors; to put our faith into action by standing up for the sanctity of life, freedom for those enslaved by addictions or human trafficking, and strengthening the hands of the poor and needy; to give of our talents, time and treasure for Kingdom purposes; to be accountable to one another through small group women’s communities of worship, prayer, Bible study, and fellowship; to strengthen our families by assuming our biblical role in the home; and to be God’s loving hands in the world.

Our Vision

To stir up, set on fire; to illuminate God’s POWER within our lives - not the power that the world craves, but a divine enablement that transforms each and every life; to become a flaming army of more-than-conquering, women of God.

Scripture

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the end of the age (Matthew 28:19 NIV).

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing (2 Corinthians 2:14-15, NASB).

Downloadables for House of Cherith

Web Banner

Brochure

Resources on Human Trafficking (Word Documents)

Link to Powerpoint