GREENVILLE, S.C. (WSPA) – One Greenville County organization is expanding its efforts to combat human trafficking and support victims.
Jasmine Road helps women who have been victims of human trafficking reintegrate into society and now they’ll have more space to do just that.
It may look like just another house, but the rooms are filled with hope.
“Greenville County is consistently in the top five of reported cases of human trafficking,” Jasmine Road Executive Director Beth Messick said. “There’s so many women living in the darkness on the streets that have no resources and no way out.”
But this house will soon house eight women in the residential program–tripling the capacity Jasmine Road has now.
“We’ve had over 200 applications for residency since we opened in 2018. We even had 13 applications just in the last month,” Messick said.
This is the second Jasmine Road house and was possible thanks to a long-standing partnership with Bon Secours.
“It provides not just life for the ladies but a safe home in the opportunity for them to grow into abundance,” Vice President of Mission Alex Garvey said.
Bon Secours not only helped provide the space for Jasmine Road but also assists with physical and mental healthcare for the women in the program.
“Human trafficking survivors and women coming from trauma and abuse to find a safe place where they can recover and heal,” Messick said.
Those women complete a two year program with Jasmine Road while living in the house.
“I see them turn that badge of shame and neglect into a wonderful badge of honor and survival,” Garvey said.
Making the space inside these walls a catalyst for change, growth and acceptance.
“When you bring love into the house then it becomes a home,” Garvey said.
Women in the program will be able to move into the new space as early as this week.
You can support Jasmine Road by visiting its website or by supporting its restaurant Jasmine Kitchen.
