How this teddy bear and other unheard-of things are helping girls heal from human trafficking.
These specialty teddy bears, light switches, blankets, plants, wallpaper, humming fish tanks, and other things in these unique healing rooms are just some of the dozens of unheard-of things that miraculously help girls heal from human trafficking.
May 2023
Phoenix, AZ
Police recovery operations are happening all across the United States. They catch thousands of bad guys each year, and free thousands of girls and young women.
The good news is that girls and young women are getting recovered…EVERY DAY!
But no one talks about what happens next.
Do they go home?
Do they go to a hospital?
Do they pick right back up where they left off in 8th grade…?
Frankly, we don’t talk about it much because it’s not a pretty story.
Some of the stories about what these girls go through AFTER the abuse are as painful as talking about the abuse.
And the specialty tools used to help these girls heal are almost unheard of in today’s medical field.
In the picture-perfect Hollywood story, the girl gets rescued. Then she goes home to a warm, welcoming family. And she is instantly healed of the trauma and abuse and she lives happily ever after.
That story sells tickets and makes us feel better about a horrible truth in our world.
But the truth is often gut-wrenching, ugly, painful, messy, and hard to look at.
The truth is, girls who’ve been trafficked need months and sometimes YEARS of help before they get “better”.
Over the past 15 years working with these girls and young women, we’ve seen a lot…
- We’ve seen a girl come in with a bullet fragment still in her head from her trafficker trying to kill her as she was escaping
- We’ve seen a girl come in with a broken femur because the trafficker dragged her from a car as she tried to escape
- Girls regularly come in with broken noses, broken teeth, black eyes and bruised faces
- We see sexually transmitted infections that take months or years to heal from
- We see minds that have been warped to think that every man is only out to abuse them or manipulate them into doing something
- Many girls come in with their trafficker’s names tattooed and sometimes burned into their skin like a farmer brands livestock
- Many of the girls have hearts that have lost the will to live and to love and to trust people
- Often we see girls that have spirits that have been broken like an animal through the mental and sometimes physical cages that the traffickers lock them in
So, no, they don’t just go home and start back in 8th grade where they left off…
Every day, we see the “rest of the story” and the HUGE need these girls have.
And part of that story involves teddy bears. But not just any ordinary teddy bear…
Aside from being adorable, soft and cuddly, these bears have a hidden secret. And its a secret that provides healing power for theses girls.
What’s this little guy’s secret? Well…he’s overweight. Literally.
This bear weighs as much as a gallon of milk (almost 10 pounds).
But how does an overweight teddy bear help these girls?
These girls come in completely overloaded. Many of them have just been rescued out of a very violent situation involving the police. Often there is gunfire, shouting, screaming and even shock grenades.
Their emotions are overloaded, their minds are racing…you can imagine that right?
But when they hold the 10-pound teddy bears it helps them feel calm and safe. It is a literal weight helping them feel “anchored” in the moment. It helps them feel calm, safe and helps their minds be in-the-now.
We’ve seen girls hunker over the teddy bear and rock back and forth crying and holding that little bear.
That teddy bear’s healing power for that moment is almost miraculous.
What the overweight bear is doing is helping provide two of their greatest needs. Comfort and grounding.
And that teddy bear is one of the dozens of other unheard-of items that are helping girls to heal after the abuse of human trafficking.
These specialty teddy bears, light switches, blankets, plants, wallpaper, humming fish tanks, and other things in these unique healing rooms are just some of the dozens of unheard-of things that miraculously help girls heal from human trafficking.
But what is the greatest need these girls and young women have?
But the greatest need these girls have is for people to come alongside them and help them as they heal.
Some people teach classes or mentor the girls. But not everyone has the time to truly commit to sticking with these girls while they heal. It’s a process…for sure.
Many people have decided to try sponsoring a room and the specialty equipment that helps these girls as they heal. It’s something that most people can do and it truly does help these girls and young women get the thing they need most – HEALING.
Effective sponsorships start at as little as $10 per month. Sponsors also get detailed stories about how these unheard-of specialty items are actually healing these girls.
What good does $10 per month do?
A lot.
That $10 may be the first healthy, nourishing, and loving meal that the girl has had in months…or years.
The $10 may be the overweight teddy bear or the specialty light switches for the rooms the girls live in.
That $10 may be the co-pay for the first medical appointment she has had in a long time. Or it may take care of the medicine she needs for her first prescription to heal something she has going on physically or mentally.
That $10 may cover the gas and transportation costs for a young woman as she is transported from the police department to the Dream Center where she will start the healing process.
That $10 may buy her a comfy shirt or PJ’s…or maybe when she’s out shopping with our staff she’ll see a stuffed animal she falls in love with and wants to take back to her room.
So, what does a $10 sponsorship do? It immediately starts the healing process.
And, that $10, when added to the hundreds of other people also giving $10 per month, becomes an unstoppable flow that heals the hundreds of girls and young women we serve every year.
And, if $10 can do THAT, imagine what $25, or $50 or even $100 can do!
Bottom line – monthly sponsorships make a difference. So, why not try sponsoring a room for girls as they heal from the abuse of?
What better gift than to walk alongside these girls girl who are recovering from the horrible abuse of human trafficking.
Any amount is appreciated and every amount goes 100% directly to help the girls heal. All of our overhead costs are covered by a private foundation grant.
Try a monthly sponsorship to help girls heal today!
Important Privacy Note – When you sponsor a girl, you will receive details about the journey that a girl takes when she comes through our human trafficking healing program. We ask that you never share the details that you are sent. Most of the girls we serve have an open FBI, Homeland Security or police investigation against their traffickers, so no one’s personal identity can ever be compromised including real names, pictures, or details that would affect their police case. We have also taken great measures to conceal the identity of any girl you are sponsoring. Any stories or details we share are based on true stories and actual events as they are related to us by the girls who have shared them with us. But any details that may jeopardize a girl’s safety will be altered or not shared in order to protect the girl. Optionally, you can also sign up for mentor training to mentor a girl after she has completed the healing program. You would then meet her as you joined her mentor team. Mentoring is not required for monthly sponsorships.
What girls who have already been sponsored are saying...
“This guy trafficked me starting at 16 years old. When the police finally got me out I needed to come to a place like the Phoenix Dream Center to get better. They’ve given me so many amazing opportunities and resources. You won’t find any other places likes this…I mean this place like saved my life.”
Katie
“I ran away from home at 17 and an older man took me into his house. It turned bad and he started locking me in the bathroom and telling me when I could eat. The SWAT team raided his house and brought me to the Phoenix Dream Center. I made a lot of friends at the Dream Center and I got my high school diploma. First thing I ever accomplished.”
Mariah
“At the age of 14 they put me out on the streets day and night. I would bring the money back to them. I got beat, I got raped, it was terrible. When I got away a school councilor called the Phoenix Dream Center and they took me in the same day. I was pregnant and they helped me and my baby have a life.”
Ronni
- Your monthly sponsorship funding will be used to sponsor a room and the specialty equipment for girls who are in the program and you will begin receiving reports in 2 to 3 days
- You will be able to write a personal note to a girl in the healing program and share encouraging words, quote and thoughts with her
- You will get the details about how these unheard of items are being used to heal real girls in our human trafficking recovery program
- You will get regular update emails about the healing journey that the girls are on as they go through the healing program
- You will get reports about things that the girls in the program are going through, and what happens next for them after the program
- You will feel like you are walking along side these girls asl they heal from the abuse of human trafficking
- You will see your monthly sponsorship actually making an impact in the lives of these girls as your sponsorship meets their immediate healing needs
- You will also get access to a huge amount of information about human trafficking that you can share with friends and family
Number of girls and young women who currently live in our healing program:
Number of girls and young women still needing sponsorships:
Bonus gift for Monthly Sponsors!
We don’t have many of these Angel Wing Keychains. When the last one is gone, this bonus goes away.
When you become a Monthly Sponsor we’ll send you one.
And, we’ll give one to the girls in the room you are sponsoring and tell her that it’s from a “friend who cares”.
Try A Monthly Sponsorship To Help Girl's Heal
100% of your donation goes directly to help girls heal from human trafficking abuse. Our administrative overhead costs are all covered by business revenue and a private foundation grant.
And, here’s some more good news – in Arizona your donation is eligible for the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit and you can get $800 in state tax credits for couples filing jointly and singles can get up to $400 in AZ Charitable Tax Credits.
