Letter from the CEO: Spring 2024
Chief Executive Officer
I often get asked what our success rate is like at The WellHouse. This is such a difficult question to answer! Who or what defines success? In the realm of residential living offering an array of pertinent services, does success come when boxes are checked indicating a year of programming completed, or is it as simple as a survivor remaining even one night on our campus escaping multiple sexual assaults that she would have typically experienced out in the world? I am not sure there is a definitive answer, but we did recently survey some of our program graduates that gave us a bit more insight into The WellHouse success rate.
We asked 31 women who were with us anywhere from April 2021 through November 2023 what their lives looked like outside of The WellHouse. We found that 81% had not returned to trafficking, 61% had not relapsed on drugs/alcohol, and 58% remained in touch with their mentor assigned to them while at The WellHouse. This is amazing data!
Equally amazing is the fact that many others who have gone through The WellHouse program were not with us when we had the array of services we currently have, and yet they continue to do well. The common element is faith! We saw this same result when we wrote the book, She is Safe.
This data also provides a point from which we can seek to offer more effective services. For example, we intend to hire a person to focus on the coordination of recovery services, and we have recently hired an Alumni Care Coordinator to maintain contact with those who leave The WellHouse to include but not limited to graduates. We are also very excited about the addition of a Spiritual Care Coordinator position which we recently filled.
As a faith-founded and based organization ministering to the whole person, we know the benefit of faith and having the position of Spiritual Care Coordinator is proving to be a tremendous gift. One only has to google studies on the benefits of faith to see how important this offering is. At The WellHouse, it is an offer. No one is expected to come with faith or embrace faith while in the program. This is a deeply personal decision, but an opportunity The WellHouse is committed to offering.
Because the majority of organizations offering services similar to The WellHouse are faithbased, and because we have all experienced the pain of being accused of forcing faith on a survivor, we were very grateful for a recent survey by The Institute of Shelter Care. The 150 survey participants were survivors of human trafficking who had been or were at the time in a faith based residential living program. (Faith Practices Report | Institute for Shelter Care) The clear message from the survivors who participated in the anonymous survey is that a high percentage favored being in a program whose foundation is faith. Those who did not share this opinion gave us information from which we can improve with grace and sensitivity.
As we move forward with many opportunities to grow and improve, we move with confidence that the foundation of The WellHouse has and will continue to sustain us. What a blessing, as we know there is nothing better than having the favor, protection, and provision of a loving Creator!