What Do They Do?
Shared Hope International is dedicated to bringing an end to sex trafficking through our three-prong approach: Prevent, Restore, Bring Justice. This comprehensive model is designed to address this complex issue while ensuring a survivor-centered lens informs all our work.
We work to prevent trafficking through community prevention education and professional training. Our training materials keep survivor experiences and need central, and every year survivors teach workshops at our JuST Conference. Our trained volunteers, the Ambassadors of Hope, offer powerful prevention education to their communities all over the US using our Chosen documentary featuring the stories of two trafficked teens. Chosen helps audiences understand what trafficking looks like and separate myth from reality.
Background
Shared Hope was founded with a core commitment to restoration when our founder, former Congresswoman Linda Smith met a girl who was being prostituted in India. It changed Linda’s life and she was moved to take action by starting Shared Hope. Today we provide grants to 13 partners around the world who provide direct services to restore and empower survivors of trafficking.
Finally, as we work to bring justice to survivors of trafficking, the needs of survivors shape the laws we advocate for in our Protected Innocence Challenge. Each year the Challenge releases a report card on each state and grades the states on the strength of their laws to protect the nation’s children from trafficking and identify and respond to those who have been harmed.
Working together, Shared Hope is committed to creating the world where every survivor is surrounded by trained professionals, an alert community, just law and policy, knowledgeable service providers and appropriate shelter options.
Hardest Part of What They Do
The enormity and complexity of the issue of sex trafficking definitely make our work challenging. In the past decade or so a lot has been done to educate the public about sex trafficking, but so much more needs to be done and shifting a culture takes time. Recovery work with survivors is also a slow process that cannot be rushed.
Given how relatively new this field of study is, we are constantly learning. And as we learn, we advocate passing stronger laws. But even when a law is enacted, that is not the end; each state must also figure out how to implement that law successfully. Whether we are working in prevention, restoration or justice, change does not happen overnight. To keep going our work requires a lot of teamwork and patience.
How To Get Involved
We welcome everyone to get involved in our work at Shared Hope International! Ending sex trafficking can’t be done alone, and we need you in order to accomplish this goal.
The best place to start is visiting our Join the Cause page. There you’ll see a bunch of options for taking action! If you have just a few minutes we recommend that you engage our social media activism under the “Contact Your Representative” button. There you’ll have a chance to be a part of our Stop the inJuSTice Campaign where we’re advocating for strong laws in each state to protect juvenile sex trafficking victims. You can call or tweet your state representatives to show support for the bills in your state!
For those who want to give more time we invite you to become a trained volunteer Ambassador of Hope, representing Shared Hope and offering prevention education in your community. And anyone can donate to keep our work going. We look forward to meeting you all as you get involved with our work. Together we can end sex trafficking!
*As told to Sam Cabrera by Susanna Bean