ELIJAH RISING
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
According to the Department of Homeland Security, sex trafficking occurs when force, fraud, or coercion is used to perpetrate a commercial sex act with an adult or when a commercial sex act is performed with a minor. This includes prostitution, pornography, and sexual performance done in exchange for any item of value, such as money, drugs, shelter, food, or clothes. The sex trafficking industry thrives because there is ever-increasing demand for illicit sex, and simple economic principles would hold that where there is demand, supply grows to meet it. The consumer in the triadic relationship between the buyer, seller, and supply fuels the market with financial resources. Anywhere there are large pools of money available to be spent, trafficking is sure to follow. This fact, combined with Houston’s proximity to the port and border, as well as the multiple interstate systems running through the city result in Houston’s unfortunate status as a significant hub for sex trafficking.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Awareness Van Tours
Designed to be training on wheels, we tour different areas of Houston to bring awareness to the prevalence of human trafficking.
Intervention
We train, equip, and empower volunteers to reach out to the individuals trapped in the sex industry with opportunities for hope. Equipped with a local hotline number, volunteers, along with trained team leaders, go into Asian massage parlors, Latin American cantinas, strip clubs, street tracks, and online websites to meet survivors in their place of need.
Restorative Care Program
Founded in 2015, the Elijah Rising Restorative Care Program was created to meet the needs of survivors who exit the sex industry. It is a program with a holistic approach to bring healing to adult female survivors and restore the lives that were stolen from them.
Where we work
External reviews
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsNumber of Facebook followers
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Context - describing the issue we work on
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of clients served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Intervention
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
*Our total number is a measure of interactions. Some are with repeat individuals.
Number of public events held to further mission
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Intervention
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We held monthly community-wide prayer meetings in 2022 as well as many speaking engagements. Our public events dramatically shifted due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Number of people trained
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Intervention
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Total number of guided tours given
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Awareness Van Tours
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Number of free participants of guided tours
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Awareness Van Tours
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we paused our Van Tours starting at the beginning of March 2020. We are excited to announce that our van tours will be relaunching in 2022 with a new digital component.
Number of people on the organization's email list
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Context - describing the issue we work on
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We removed all inactive email addresses.
Number of volunteers
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Intervention
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Total Nights of Restorative Care Safe Housing
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Social and economic status
Related Program
Restorative Care Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Goal 1: Elijah Rising will maintain and enhance our program by serving an increased number of women per year with a research based, trauma informed approach and a robust quality of care.
Goal 2: In addition to directly caring for survivors, Elijah Rising will increasingly raise awareness and mobilize the public on behalf of survivors. As a result of these efforts, we will be recognized as the foremost local authority on addressing sex trafficking and employing methodologies that result in successful impacts on reduction and elimination.
Goal 3: By 2025, we will have a seamless, multi-disciplinary continuum of care for the adult survivor of sex trafficking in Houston. Elijah Rising serves as a steward and conduit of our accumulated knowledge, not only for ourselves but for the anti-trafficking community at large. We will continue to work collaboratively with other organizations to make a "pipe-line of care" a reality for survivors.
Goal 4: By 2030, we will see the Elijah Rising approach of Prayer, Awareness, Intervention, and Restoration to end sex-trafficking duplicated in another city. Our goal is to make the Elijah Rising program replicable.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Strategy 1: Through intensive study of the literature and best practices and with the help of our on-staff, clinical psychologist, we have created new modalities and systems that will serve to improve the delivery process of our program. Accordingly, we will be better equipped to track the overall success of our program and ensure the community that we aim to serve is receiving the best care possible.
Strategy 2: To increasingly raise awareness, we will employ tried and true methods, as well as new initiatives.
The longest running program in our repertoire is our Awareness Van Tour program, which is essentially Human Trafficking 101 on wheels. We not only educate the public about the dangers of sex trafficking, but we also show participants exactly where cases of trafficking have either been documented or where a high probability of cases may occur. We have re-vamped our van tours with a digital component to increase credibility, which is slated to be launched in 2022. New awareness initiatives will include a digital museum of Modern Day Slavery, which is also set to be launched in 2022.
Strategy 3: We partner with several other NGOs who can cover the broad spectrum of services necessary for someone to effectively exit the sex trafficking industry. Our city now has a local hotline number, an emergency assessment program, multiple restorative care programs, a drop-in center, and a number of resources ranging from medical, dental, housing, childcare, and more, all oriented to the needs of survivors. Elijah Rising will also continue to assist another NGO in securing the funding to staff an emergency shelter, which will be housed in Elijah Rising's facilities.
Strategy 4: Replicating Elijah Rising's mission in another city is no small task, but part of making it a reality will include the successful transfer of information. A major part of our strategic plan for 2022 is to shift our organization from people-dependent to process-dependent so that information is not lost from one staff-member to another and from one season to another. To ensure the completion of this shift, Elijah Rising is capturing and composing an organization-wide digital and print repository of processes and procedures.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
As one of Houston’s oldest anti-trafficking organizations, our good reputation amongst our peers and in the nationwide abolitionist movement has grown so that even visitors from out of state seek us out to experience the work that we are doing. Our staff is composed of highly educated, talented and well-versed individuals who are engaged in continual learning, which includes being mentored by experts in the field.
We employ targeted volunteer tactics to accomplish our mission of ending sex trafficking. This allows us to curb large financial expenditures. We also conduct all fundraising in house so that our resources can go towards the mission.
Elijah Rising relies on private donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations. This allows for maximum flexibility within our organization. If we need to shift gears at a moment’s notice, utilizing our financial resources will not be hindered by government regulations.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We have been able to accomplish incredible things in the past 10 years. Blessings and testimonies abound. We have established a successful awareness program that has accounted for thousands of individuals being educated about the realities of sex trafficking.
Our effective outreach methods have enabled us to make contact with more than 1,200 sex trafficking survivors annually. Because of our successes, we have trained other nonprofits in how to reach women trapped in the industry. We even hosted an outreach conference during Super Bowl 2016 as it was held in Houston. To our knowledge, it was a one-of-a-kind event that has since spurred on other cities to do the same.
Another major accomplishment is the purchase of our 84-acre campus and rehabilitation of several buildings on the property, making it a serene, therapeutic environment for survivors, partner agencies, and other ministries to use.
Perhaps the greatest measure of our progress is in the lives that have been saved. One such life is a survivor named *Lucy who completed our Restoration Program in 24 months. Our Program has provided, at no cost to the victim, around-the-clock housing and care for Lucy and other women who have survived sex trafficking. They receive counseling from our trauma-informed, licensed clinical therapist as well as medical care, mentorship, education, and job training from program staff and volunteers.
Because of our Restorative Program and safe home environment, Lucy is experiencing victory in so many areas of her life. She has been running, with very little oversight from Elijah Rising Program Staff, our Social Enterprise candle-making operation. Additionally, Lucy has just been hired by a partner ministry who will assume the operation of our social enterprise. She will continue making candles for them. Finally, and best of all, Lucy will be moving into her own home with space enough to allow for reunification with her children and grandchildren!
*name changed to protect her identity
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
ELIJAH RISING
Board of directorsas of 01/19/2024
Mr. Aaron Pichon
CEO, KellyCraft Innovations
Term: 2022 - 2024
Aaron Pichon
The Kingsland Group
Kerry Stovall
Entrepreneur
Tami Preece
Blazek & Vetterling
Dr. Sean Boutros
My Houston Surgeons
Dr. Evelyn Garro Cordero
CT Church
Patti Owens
Rene Jobert
i3 Interests
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 11/17/2020GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.