June Newsletter

June is a season of renewal here at Reclaiming Hope.

Sues is out of office for the month, in order to recover from her surgery that gave her a new knee!

In addition to that Reclaiming Hope has a new Office Manager, Regina. Our previous Office Manager, Allison (is ghost writing this section of the newsletter for you) is moving onto a new job that will allow her to grow in her career. “I want you all to know that Reclaiming Hope is more than an organization or a ministry to me, it became a home and I am going to take all the wisdom and kindness with me as I continue out into the world. Thank you to everyone who makes Reclaiming Hope what it is.”

So our newsletter this month consists of updates from each staff member highlighting what is new in their programs:

Hope Bag Program Update:
God has blessed our Hope Bag Program by calling 3 new Lead Volunteers to help oversee the program and guide other volunteers as they serve. We now have 5 Lead Volunteers. They have already made such a huge difference as they guide volunteer groups and help in the day to day tasks of running the Hope Bag Program. Our Hope Bag Program couldn’t serve survivors the way we do if it weren’t for the faithful service of so many volunteers – we truly appreciate all of them!

Christmas seems so far away, but we know that it will approach quickly! Our Stockings for Survivors Program has been growing each year. Last year our Stocking Program was able to serve around 500 survivors of trafficking here in Colorado. We want to be prepared to fulfill the requests from our partners for Stockings this upcoming December.

In order to be more prepared to respond to the requests we expect to receive, we are planning a Christmas in July Open House on July 25th from 3:00 to 8:00. This event will kick off our season for collecting items for the Christmas stockings. We have a lot of fun activities planned that are appropriate for all ages and we will begin collecting gift cards and stocking stuffers for the Stockings for Survivors Program.

Please stop by and don’t forget to invite your friends and family as well!

Survivor Care Update:
This month we trained 4 new Mentors who jumped right in, attending their first monthly meeting. Reclaiming Hope couldn’t do the work with local Survivors without our Mentors walking alongside them.

A Mentee moved into one of our recently vacated apartments. The previous Mentee was awarded a voucher and found a forever place to live! Now we can serve another soul and assist in further healing under the safety of a roof over her head for up to the next two years.

Our Survivor Care Closet, which is filled by you through our Amazon Wish list, supplied her with many items she will need in her new home. Thank you!

You also helped supply birthday gifts to two Mentees this month, which we fill with some of their favorite items and a gift card. One Mentee cried as she read the card and opened her present. She was unsure anyone would remember her birthday or give her a gift this year. When you have to cut ties with many of those closest to you it can be hard around birthdays. We want them to know they are celebrated by us.

The Survivor Care team is blessed to be a part of the healing journey with these Survivors and thank you for your part in that ministry.

Case Management and Job Readiness update:
We are receiving more calls than ever, from Colorado and around the country. The need for help is great and we are able to work together with our local community partners as well as national partners, to help find resources for survivors, to set them on the path to healing.

Many people think that once a survivor is recovered from their trafficking situation, then life can just go on as normal. They can go to school, get a job, and easily transition back into society. Unfortunately that is not the case and the healing from the trauma they’ve experienced (and still carry with them) can take years, decades, even. We want to connect them with services such as therapy, life skills training, mentoring, and job readiness. For some survivors, the right answer is entering a long term, intensive treatment program that can really help them process and begin healing from their experiences. We are a small ministry who cannot provide all of those needs but we have formed trusting relationships with community partners who can help in the areas we cannot.

However, one of the areas we have been able to provide assistance in, has been job readiness. Together with Sarah Krider of the Nehemiah Project, we developed our own, trauma-informed job readiness curriculum. Since the fall, we’ve had 4 women complete the program and we were able to connect them with jobs! We are always looking for trauma-informed community partners who would be willing to have a conversation about being a job placement site option, for the survivors completing our job readiness program.

We truly appreciate all the support you provide this ministry and we could not continue helping survivors, right here in our own community, without you.

Blessings,
Sues Hess, Exec. Dir., and the RHope Team