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Our Programs

 

Our Programs

The Switch works to provide both early education and prevention programs, as well as advocacy and recovery efforts to victims of sex trafficking. Through a holistic approach, we work to support victims of sex trafficking while creating communities that are free of exploitation. 

 

Recovery & Support Programs

The Switch is dedicated to providing holistic support to survivors through economic and educational programs, health and therapeutic services. 

 

Focus on Family: For SurThrivers, a strong focus on family is the only way to break the cycle of exploitation. Through therapeutic family activities, the Focus on the Family program supports the children of sex trafficking victims, who are often overlooked during the recovery process. Focus on the Family gives children the room to be heard, and gives families the opportunity to grow and heal together. Exploitation has a ripple effect, and until we address the trauma of the victim’s children, the cycle may continue. 

 

Focus on Family Highlights

  • Weekly family counseling sessions, both in-person and virtually.
  • One-on-one counseling and support for children of survivors. 
  • Entrepreneurship education and training for victims of sex trafficking, with a focus on income generation to support their families. 
  • Holistic support and wraparound services for both victims and their families 

 

Peerpurpose: The Switch partners with juvenile detention centers to provide prevention and entrepreneurship programs that support rehabilitation, rather than reincarceration. Peerpurpose is a three-day workshop at the Switch for girls in juvenile detention centers. At Skills to Succeed, girls will:

  • Meet with local business owners and learn about their businesses
  • Dream, ideate, and create a mock business plan
  • Meet individually with a guidance counselor about their plans, and create a roadmap for success. 
  • Participate in group counseling and dreaming sessions 
  • Learn more about sex trafficking, prevention, self-advocacy, and services
  • Hear from survivors of sex trafficking about their experiences

 

Prevention Programs

The Switch’s prevention programs are designed to create a world free of sex trafficking through robust information and education.

 

“ICU”: Juvenile Justice Reconciliation Program.

To build safe communities free of sex trafficking, there must be a comprehensive partnership between law enforcement agencies and victims of sex trafficking. The “ICU” program works to build a bridge between victims of sex trafficking and law enforcement, to create partnerships with local organizations and entities that provide preventative programs, like The Switch’s SecureHER program, to create for greater understanding in preventing sex trafficking, and greater empathy and support for victims.

 

“ICU”: Juvenile Reconciliation Program Highlights

  • Mediated conversations and workshops with survivors of sex trafficking and law enforcement 
  • The public partnership between local non-profit organizations, law enforcement agencies, and prevention groups, to organize events and programs
  • Focus on reconciliation and rehabilitation rather than carceral solutions. 

 

“ICU” School-Based Prevention Program

The ICU” School-based program partners with public, private, and parochial institutions to create preventative workshops for students nationwide.

 

 “ICU” School-Based Prevention Program Highlights

  • Panels & Guest Speaker Series
    Through a guest speaker series, justice leaders: law enforcement, attorneys, forensic interviews, abolitionists, and survivors of sex trafficking, come together to educate students about prevention, creating safe communities, and ensuring that they can be part of the solution. 
  • The Social Justice Academy
    Through a focus on capacity building, students that participate in Social Justice Academy workshops are equipped to fight sex trafficking in their own communities, to advocate for justice for victims instead of incarceration, and to be upstanders in creating a better world. 

 

SecureHER

SecureHER is the first-ever comprehensive sex trafficking prevention program for students across the United States. At the Switch, we believe that together, we can combat sex trafficking through robust information, education, and upstander intervention. 

A comprehensive prevention curriculum created by a team with experience in sex trafficking prevention and advocacy, internet safety, and forensic science and education, SecureHER is designed for elementary, middle, and high school students, with a specific focus on critical thinking and decision making, personal and internet safety, bystander intervention, resources and support services, and community advocacy. 

The SecureHer curriculum is currently being created and piloted in partnership with The Global School for Girls in Sonoma County, California. 

 

SecureHER Highlights

  • Elementary, middle, and high school curriculum programs
  • Support and training for educators teaching and using the SecureHer curriculum

 

AMEN: Advocates, Mentors, Entrepreneurs, and Navigators

Let the church say AMEN! The Switch’s AMEN program is a series of online module courses for churches/ministries to mobilize their members in the fight against sex trafficking. AMEN courses provide support and training for individuals that want to be involved in advocating against sex trafficking. Course modules include training in:

  • Understanding sex trafficking: what is it, the prevalence of sex trafficking across the United States, 
  • Advocacy against sex trafficking: Getting involved in local  grassroots anti-sex trafficking organizations 
  • Mentoring and supporting survivors of sex trafficking
  • Empowering entrepreneurs and providing education to survivors
  • Your institution and sex trafficking: how to get your religious institution involved in the fight against sex trafficking