Empower Her Network Inc

Empower Her Network exists to address a national gap in services identified by immediate aftercare providers: most trafficking survivors exhaust available resources without a realistic economic alternative, putting them at high risk of re-trafficking and homelessness. Before working with EHN, the average annual wage is $19,091, which is below poverty level, and sustainable housing is out of reach due to bad credit/no credit and financial obligations like security deposits. It’s a critical juncture: independence is possible, but barriers abound. What landlord will take you on with terrible or no credit? How do you save money for a security deposit and last month’s rent when you’re living paycheck to paycheck? How do you get a steady wage job without references and gaps in your resume? Survivors need advocacy and temporary financial support surrounding housing, education, and employment to bust out of generational exploitation and poverty cycles and remain forever free. Without this graduated service offering, many survivors cycle through the same immediate aftercare programs over and over.

"Empowerment Plan" Model
The barriers encountered by survivors as they exit the life are layered, so solutions need to be as well. Immediate aftercare services are a must—trauma support, temporary shelter, addressing legal issues, etc. Once survivors are stable enough to look outward, their needs change. Empower Her Network receives nominations from 80+ organizations on the lookout for survivors ready to rewrite their narrative on their terms. EHN’s local, trauma-informed advocates collaborate with nominees on an “Empowerment Plan” spanning 12 to 18 months. While each plan is unique, the goal is always the same: achieve fiscal independence through housing solutions, financing education, providing advocacy, and establishing a career path. When members graduate from the program, they are ready to tackle future barriers independently.

Evidence-based Economic Mobility
In line with best practices for domestic violence survivors and homeless persons, EHN’s evidence-based program supports the rapid rehousing model and employment paths that focus on the individual’s unique needs and plans.

Housing Logic
The logic of EHN’s program extends beyond the initial need for safe housing— by leveraging a landlord/tenet relationship instead of program-owned or program-rented solutions, EHN assists in building survivors’ personal credit, providing ongoing training and support, and putting them in a position for long-term financial security. Because EHN’s program is the final step in the rapid rehousing model, it is independent living with a landlord/tenant relationship. It is a completely low-barrier model without regulations placed on the survivor.

Employment Logic
The logic of EHN’s career program extends beyond the basic need for employment, focusing on the universal need for stable housing and an immediate transition from minimum-wage to steady-wage employment while—in many cases—pursuing education/vocation opportunities with promising long-term career opportunities. In addition to this tactical focus on economic empowerment, EHN’s trauma-informed advocacy, referrals, and interventions confront additional societal barriers by developing life skills that foster confidence, motivation, and proactive solutions rooted in clear plans of action. EHN’s innovative approach leans into existing services to eliminate overlapping resources while putting each survivor in the driver’s seat, often for the first time. It is true empowerment, with therapeutic support and guidance.

Efficacy
EHN is a data-driven, tech-savvy NGO that has tracked outcomes since day one. This model has six full years of documented, successful outcomes creating exit ramps for trafficking victims while closing on ramps for their children: 98% of participants graduate the program with stable housing and an average wage increase of 56% annually (from $19,091 to $29,759). This is often only the beginning; many survivors graduate as they complete a program with a more promising career path. The indirect impact of the program is also substantial: going into 2023, there were 343 children now living above the poverty line in safe housing.

Today, Empower Her Network is a national organization with 80+ national partners nominating survivors in 10 areas. During this next phase of thoughtful, survivor-centered growth, the network is focused on launching the program in additional trafficking hotbed cities, expanding career and mentorship opportunities to the alumni community, and continuing to be a thought leader in the anti-trafficking movement.