Support Freedom Story—Baptist Friendship House—USA

Hope and Healing for Survivors

WorldCrafts and Baptist Friendship House Partner to Bring Hope and Healing to Victims of Sex Trafficking

Baptist Friendship House in New Orleans, Louisiana, works to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the homeless, human trafficking survivors, and those living in poverty. They are a registered Christian Women’s Job Corps site of national WMU.

Through their partnership with the National Human Trafficking Hotline, they are able to help trafficking survivors find a safe shelter and transportation to the shelter. One day they received a call from a trafficking survivor. She shared that she was in a rundown motel and needed help. She had been trafficked for many years and did not have anyone she could reach out to for help. It was unsafe for her to remain in New Orleans. Through Baptist Friendship House partnerships, they were able to locate a shelter in a different state that had an opening for her. They were able to purchase her transportation to the shelter. They also provided her with a backpack filled with the items she would need until she reached her new destination. As they drove her to the airport, she said, “I’ve got my Bible and my ticket to a new life.” She then shared her favorite Scripture, quoted from memory.

Baptist Friendship House offers group counseling for those they minister to in New Orleans. The women make pottery as a part of their therapy sessions. This provides them an opportunity to learn a trade and earn fair wages. As they sit in a non-threatening environment and make pottery, they feel comfortable opening up and sharing. While they make things with their hands, they relax; walls come down, so they feel comfortable sharing. Sharing and getting those feelings out helps healing start. Now these women have turned their hobby into a skill they can use to rebuild their lives.

Support the women of Baptist Friendship House by purchasing their handmade pottery and sublimation products.