As a sister organization to Thistle Farms, a highly successful non-profit out of Nashville, TN (www.thistlefarms.org), Jasmine Road aims to provide its residents, survivors of sexual exploitation, prostitution and addiction, with the strength, the skill-sets and the opportunities to rejoin society at a living wage.

Jasmine Road is the first and only organization in the Greenville community to provide a comprehensive and holistic residential restoration program for adult female survivors. Based on the Thistle Farms model, a highly successful nonprofit out of Nashville, TN, Jasmine Road is based on the “Housing First Model” – we know that it is impossible for victims to focus on recovery without having a safe and stable living situation. Another important distinguishing factor is the opportunity to gain work experience through community partners and the social enterprise (opening in 2019). No matter how much counseling and other services are provided, if a survivor cannot find gainful employment, it is very difficult to sustain recovery. The incorporation of extensive high quality healthcare delivered in a trauma-informed non-judgmental compassionate environment is the third unique aspect. Thanks to our partner Bon Secours St. Francis Health System, we have been able to provide this access.

Firstly, Jasmine Road's program depends on a residential model; our first house opened for residents on May 29, 2018. Secondly, our program depends on strong leadership having experience with this population, which we have in Beth Messick and Lindsay Blair. Thirdly, our program depends on collaborative partnerships with experts in various fields such as healthcare, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, trauma-informed therapy and education. Current strategic partnerships include Thistle Farms, (the program on which Jasmine Road is modeled), Bon Secours St. Francis Health System, The Julie Valentine Center, Dr. Keith Strausbaugh, DDS, FAVOR Greenville, and many others.

We measure success by tracking each resident’s goals and needs. We track services provided and measurable outcomes including meetings and groups attended, individual treatment plan outcomes, health and therapeutic care provided, and individual progression through the phases of the residential program. Once we have graduated our first class of residents, we will also be tracking graduates of the program, and the percent that are in stable housing and maintaining meaningful employment.

Thanks to many donors and grantors, our first house was purchased and renovated, and our pilot program opened on May 29, 2018 to five participants, which makes the total capacity of the Thistle Farms sister network 230 beds. The development of Jasmine Road's social enterprise, a restaurant which will employ our residents in Greenville's west side, is well-underway and scheduled to open in late 2019. After we have successfully completed a two-year pilot of our residential program, we plan to incorporate lessons learned into our program model and open additional residences.