We have land in Berea KY!
About our Organization
Redeeming Hope’s mission is to provide a safe and stable home environment for sexually exploited teenage girls. Empowering healing each girl through a comprehensive, holistic approach through counseling, education and support.
OUR HISTORY
Lisa Foster, a Realtor with Berkshire Hathaway, was looking for a mission in life,a way to live with a grieving heart, after the murder of her daughter Jordan in 2022. A friend approached Lisa shortly after the tragedy in her life to help teenage girls dealing with victimization and abuse of being a victim of human trafficking or sexual exploitation. Ironically Lisa’s daughter had been on the Human Trafficking Task force when her daughter Jordan was a prosecuting attorney in Northern Ky. Lisa, led by faith and a motivation to honor her daughter’s death,felt she had found her calling and her mission in life.
Shortly after she accepted this mission,she reached out to friends and individuals who shared Lisa’s passion and excitement to provide a loving home and place of healing for these girls ages 14-18 years old. Together they sought help,resources and expertise from others in their community.
The following individuals each provide varying skills and talents to formulate a desire into a plan and develop this mission into brick and mortar. We cannot thank the community and these individuals enough to lend a hand and volunteer your services.
- Zinnia Hensley, Social Worker
- Jennifer Rose, BS degree in Psychology, wife, mother and administrative assistant at Church at the Rock, Berea KY
- Shanna Sharber, Pediatric Doctor (a friend of Jordan’s since kindergarten )
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Kara Baughman, Tax Accountant
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Linda Blackburn, Retired Social Worker in the local school district
DEFINING WHO WE ARE
Redeeming Hope is a 501(c)(3) located in Berea, KY (Madison County) but we serve all 120 counties of Kentucky. They have a goal to have a group home with the emphasis to provide love, healing and education for girls from the ages of 14 through 18 who have been human trafficked or sexually exploited.
OUR FOCUS: Our goal was to focus on girls who have specifically experience human trafficking and/or sexual exploitation as this demographic needs customized trauma informed therapy. Our staff will have expertise on how to handle this specific type of trauma and the process of healing for these girls.
SOCIAL & GROUP SUPPORT: Another reason we have chosen this specific demographic is the positive social aspect. Girls living together who have experienced this type of trauma will create an atmosphere of shared experience, group support and mutual understanding, thus enabling bonds that will be built based on similar past trauma. Research has shown that a group of 10-12 individuals provides the most effective group support, where the girls can lean on each other, learn from each other and realize they are not alone.
Our services will include:
- Safe Space: a group home to be completed for occupancy by the end of 2023, which will house 10-12 girls. Our home will provide a safe space to heal, to comfort, to support, to learn and to persevere, so we can help the girls move past their abuse and their abusers.
- Equine Therapy: involve activities with horses and other equines to promote human physical and mental health.
- Treatment & Trauma Therapy: a focused therapy method that recognizes and emphasizes understanding how the traumatic experience impacts a child’s mental, behavioral, emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being. These services will be provided by licensed physicians, therapists and social workers based on the recommendations and approval of each girl’s state case worker.
- Educational Assistance: providing the girl’s a fighting chance to give them the independence, the equality and the opportunity to build a successful future, as well as help other women.
- Life Training Skills: from nutritional, exercise, mindful meditation, cooking, cleaning, gardening, budgeting, interview and career training, and soft skills, we will provide the girls with essential skills to live a rich and fulfilling life.
HOW IT STARTED ... HOW IT'S GOING
We are working together as a board and as a community to begin fundraising for the building of our group home.
LAND DONATED: We have had a 5-acre lot along a picturesque stream donated to Redeeming Hope, and we thank the land donors on this incredible gift. The location in Berea, KY is perfect for the size of home we are looking to build, as well as centrally located in Madison County, where we will serve all 120 counties of Kentucky, and the surroundings are peaceful, serene and quiet.
OUR REDEEMING HOPE HOME: The home will be a two-story a 6000-square-foot residential home with at least 6-8 bedrooms. The property will also include a small farm with chicken coops, a greenhouse, and a place of reflection The Jordan River*, which all will be onsite business ventures to fund operating costs as well as teach the girls life and work skills and foster an entrepreneurial spirit.
*JORDAN’S RIVER: On the property we will have a landscaped corner along the “Jordan River” a small creek which borders the property. (The Jordan River is named for Lisa’s daughter whose life was tragically ended at just 32 years old). This serene section of the property will be used for a place of meditation and healing for the girls in residence. We will also rent this space out to photographers, wedding parties and local residents to provide a beautiful backdrop for their photos. These funds will go directly back to the operation of our girls’ home.
FUNDRAISING: With a series of events, local corporate and individual sponsors, media sponsors, volunteer building contractors, building supplies donations, tee shirt sales, and community awareness, our board and staff is working hard to raise funds so we can build, operate and maintain our girls home to comfortably house 10-12 girls along with the 24/7 staff.
- Phase I of the fundraising if to raise enough for all that is involved in construction and furnishing the home and needed supplies.
- Phase II will be fundraising for the ongoing operations, including the cost of staff, food and supplies, and training/healing activities for the girls.
We thank you for all your support!
WHY WE ARE CALLED TO THIS MISSION
Some recent statistics about human trafficking:
- Kentucky ranks number 9 in the nation for human trafficking in 2019 in Federal cases reported.
- During the 2021 reporting year, the cabinet received 312 reports of alleged human trafficking involving 379 alleged child victims. This is a 50% increase in reports from the 2020 to 2021 reporting year, and almost 61% increase in number of victims.
- This modern-day form of slavery claims an estimated 24.9 million victims of all ages around the world and is a serious violation of human rights. Although some trafficking is global, human trafficking is largely a regional and local issue with 65% of trafficking happening domestically. (2022)
- Women and girls account for 71% of trafficking victims globally, and the majority are trafficked for sexual exploitation—77% of trafficked women and 72% of trafficked girls are victims of sex trafficking. (2017)
- Since its inception, the Human Trafficking Hotline has identified 82,301 cases of human trafficking. 164,839 victims were identified in these cases. (2022)
Awareness Means Protection:
Groomers prey on little girls until they no longer know what normal is. Drugs are often involved. Perpetrators are frequently known to the victim or even family members. Human trafficking does not necessarily involve moving, traveling or transporting a person across state or national borders. It can happen anywhere to anyone at any age.
Dedicated to Jordan Morgan
Lisa Foster’s daughter, Jordan Morgan was tragically murdered on February 22, 2022 at her home. Jordan was born on August 28, 1989 in Lexington, Kentucky. She was a graduate of Northern Kentucky University’s Chase College of Law, and had recently began working as an attorney with Reminger Co. in Lexington KY.
We honor her memory by loving and caring for girls who have been abused, exploited and trafficked, and providing a safe space for them to heal, grow and become strong, educated, independent and inspiring women like our Jordan Morgan.
