Restore Year End Letter 2010

Dear Friends,

For Ms. L, moving into the Restore Safe House—a beautiful home with lots of natural light, a backyard, good food, and rent-free—seemed like a dream that was too good to be true. So good that it took the Restore staff two weeks to convince her to move in, and become Restore’s first safe house client. For Ms. L, being lied to and offered empty promises had become a way of life. She refused to believe that the house existed. Truthfully, in many ways, it was too good to be true for me as well.

Restore has come a long way in two years, from a time when it was just an idea with a great deal of planning work ahead. And though we still have our work cut out for us, we are serving clients and educating the community on sex trafficking daily. We received our first client from Queens Criminal Court in March 2009, and since then, our team has provided education, counseling, and case management services (such as ESL, job training, and court advocacy) to over 100 women.

In addition, thanks to the support of our friends we held two successful events last year, the Restore Gala and the Brick by Brick Campaign, raising over a quarter of a million dollars, which enabled us to open New York City’s first long-term safe house for foreign-born survivors of sex trafficking. Our organization was highlighted in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Change.org.

What a HUGELY successful year! And we have you, our friends, to be thankful for in joining us in the journey.

However, with all of the great celebrations, there is still much to be done. We are truly only scratching the surface of a huge evil in our city and world—the sale and exploitation of women and girls. With increased awareness and response from local NYPD, the need to provide services for survivors of trafficking will only continue to grow. The good news is that a little bit of support has the ability to make a huge impact in a survivor’s life.

• $50 provides roughly 3 hours of specialized counseling

• $100 provides food and other basic necessities for one woman for 10 days

• $1,000 provides vocational training

• $5,000 provides shelter at Restore’s Safe House to eight women for 50 days

• $10,000 provides screening and court advocacy to 100 clients within the NY Judicial System

Without exaggeration, the day that Ms. L moved into the house was probably one of the most important and significant days of my life. Ms. L came to NYC for a job and then was sex-trafficked upon entry, forced to work in a brothel in Queens as a way to pay off her “debt.” When the brothel was raided, Ms. L was arrested and sent to Queens Criminal Court, where Restore made contact and began providing services. She was identified as a trafficking survivor and Restore subsequently connected her with an immigration lawyer in order for her to obtain a Trafficking Visa. Then she went missing. Her phone was disconnected for two months and we had no idea where she was. In early October, we received a phone call from a half-way house in DC. Ms. L had been arrested for prostitution in DC, and was placed in jail for two months.

When Ms. L arrived at the safe house, I greeted her with a welcome package made by a volunteer that included a knitted shawl, journal with matching pen, soap and chocolate. She was wearing a bright yellow sweatshirt and seemed overwhelmed by the kindness shown to her that day. We rented a van and helped her to move the few items that she owned, one being a little bamboo plant that she placed on a table and pointed out to me with pride. I complimented the plant, and she said in broken English, “I’m happy to be here.”

I am beyond grateful for your support. I humbly ask that you would continue to join us in our mission to provide the absolute best quality of care to survivors of sex trafficking, so that they can be reintegrated into society as whole women, empowering them to be leaders in the community.

Please feel free to make a donation here: http://restorenyc.org. You may also mail a check made out to “Restore NYC, Inc.” and mail to:

Restore NYC
Bowling Green Station
PO Box 1003
New York, NY 10274

Please be sure to include your contact information along with your check donation so that we can provide you with a tax receipt.

Thank you again for contributing your time and resources in making Restore possible.

Blessings,

Faith Huckel
Executive Director