Letter from the CEO - Winter 2022
Chief Executive Officer
Measuring success in not always black and white! In our world of residential living, we can provide data on how many were served, how many services were offered, how many graduated our program, and so forth. But, measuring internal effects that guide a person to become who she was created to be differs from person to person. A pastor used to say, “it is never too late to serve God from where you are right now”. When a survivor of human trafficking catches a glimpse of her worth and value, and that she can indeed be the person God created her to be right where she is despite her trauma, pain, and like all of us – sin, the transformation and ensuing success is immeasurable.
Getting there is not an easy journey, and indeed, it is not a walk that ever ends as the setbacks can be oh so disappointing. However, continuing to move forward is a definite mark of success. At The WellHouse, we end this year with a success both measurable and undeniable for which we were unsure of achieving much of the year – WellHouse Child!
Strong encouragement from many in our world of anti-human trafficking to provide this service challenged us to open a home for minors, as our hearts were continually burdened for these youth. And, a gift that allowed us to build the home debt free, as well as incoming funding for staff and other needs to operate propelled us forward as clear indicators of God’s leading. The first few months of operating confirmed that this is the hardest work we could have possibly embraced, and we were ill-equipped. But, those setbacks caused our wonderfully dedicated staff to choose success over failure and give it their best.
We struck gold, so to speak, when a former employee who had gained vast experience in serving highly traumatized youth returned to serve at WellHouse Child. She and our Chief Program Officer spent countless hours developing a restructure plan to ensure that we were able to be the best that these young people needed and deserved!
Re-opening in July with a dedicated and highly trained staff covered with much prayer was a successful endeavor. For a few weeks, we had one youth! One! Then, two! Then two more. Then suddenly, three more and one more and we expect two more before the end of the year… making WellHouse Child full! FULL! That one word alone means we are still very much in need of intense, daily prayer for this program to work and for these youth to become successful. Also, we need prayer for those who identify and ensure these youth are placed with us, including referrals from Child Protective Services nationwide, Juvenile Justice Departments nationwide, Homeland Security, and other organizations. While we endeavor to avoid the sensationalism of declaring that there are thousands of trafficked youth, as quantifying the amount is not even possible, certainly one is too many and all merit our help!
Praise be to God and thanks to so many, almost 10 minor females are here receiving medical care, therapy, education through our partnership with the county board of education and a virtual academy close by, and – well, they asked to attend a breakfast where they could visit Santa! I imagine that for most of them, it was a first, at least a first while living in peace in a loving, caring environment where they returned home after their Santa breakfast, meeting with no fear of harm.
This is success that is straight from the hands of a loving God and Savior whose birth we will celebrate and while they will have fun with the Santa idea, they will learn of the true gift and meaning of Christmas.