Healing Begins with You

Thistle Farms is a nonprofit based in Nashville, TN, that is dedicated to helping women survivors recover and heal from trafficking, prostitution, and addiction. We provide a safe place to live, a meaningful job, and a lifelong sisterhood of support because we believe that love is the most powerful force in the world.

In 1997 I opened a home where five women from the streets and prison could live for free and begin to heal from the violence and trauma they had experienced. In 2001 we began a social enterprise making natural body-care products so residents could have a job and work toward their own economic independence.

Twenty years later, we are doing the same work, but with greater impact. We have three social enterprises that will bring in more than $4 million this coming year and will provide more than 100,000 hours of employment to survivors. We mentor and host a national network of 50 sister organizations, and we have 30 global partners. Our residential program has five homes and still offers two-year housing, therapy, medical care, and more to survivors, at no cost to them. We continue to do this because we truly believe that love has the power to heal us all.

Check out the following video to learn more about Thistle Farms:

About the Author | Becca Stevens

Becca Stevens is an Episcopal priest, speaker, author, and justice advocate. As an entrepreneur, she has begun seven nonprofits, including Thistle Farms—founded in 1997 to help women survivors of trafficking, prostitution, and addiction. She has been designated a CNN Hero and White House Champion of Change, and has been featured on the Today Show, ABC World News, NPR, and in the New York Times.

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