Reclaim13

Children are being sexually exploited in our midst. Their bodies and their lives are taken to benefit the adults who are supposed to care for them. The message that there is no one who will help tells the child that she lives in complete isolation—there is no larger community, no safety, and no hope. A child growing up in such a world learns to distrust everyone. And the best she can hope for is to survive… …unless somebody shows her there is another way, another world; a community where she can find love, compassion, and healing– the world God intended, where His love is greater than the fear she has known. Reclaim13 was created so that we could change this message. We want to show vulnerable children that they are NOT alone, that people DO care, and people WILL help! All children deserve to feel safe and loved. we developed a Prevention/Education program to equip children, parents, and communities with information they need to both be aware of sexual exploitation and to protect children from the cycle that potentially leads to further victimization and trafficking. 13 is an extraordinarily vulnerable age for children. There are studies that indicate the average age a child is induced into commercial sex trafficking is 13. We are committed to breaking the cycle of exploitation and reclaiming the childhood of these children, building a future of hope. In 2015 we rebranded as Reclaim13 to better represent this fact. Since we started, we have engaged more than 13,000 individuals and organizations in the Chicago urban and suburban community, equipping them to actively participate in making an impact on ending sexual exploitation. As a result, we are not only raising awareness of this issue but also creating opportunities for Community Engagement in many different categories to engage in the fight. In fact, this past year our volunteers offered over 15,000 hours of service. Helping survivors of trafficking find Healing is complex. In December of 2015, Reclaim13 opened Cherish House, a safe house for girls between the ages of 10-17 years who are escaping sex trafficking. Cherish House is the only safe house in Illinois for minor victims of sex trafficking. Cherish House offers a trauma-informed therapeutic environment for holistic healing, so girls with highly traumatized histories can heal and move into productive futures. We are working to launch the second phase of our residential Healing program soon, our program for young adults, ages 18-25. We have also created a Mentor Program, both for residents of Cherish House and our Young Adult Program as well as for community survivors of trafficking- both minor and adult, helping each individual move towards his/her life goals. Together, in each of these three areas, we are working to break the cycle of exploitation at each potential engagement point.