Nueva Esperanza- New Hope Girls Inc

We exist to help provide rescue, refuge, and restoration for girls and women in the Dominican Republic. We are seeking to break cycles of exploitation and replace them with cycles of empowerment. It is our goal to help girls and women heal as they learn about their deep and lasting worth. As they heal and grow, we are seeking to raise leaders - within their households and the community. We know that those who are empowered ultimately become the empowerers.

There are three areas that we work to strategically rescue girls and empower women in the Dominican Republic.

First, we have residential Safe Homes that welcome girls coming from the darkest of circumstances. With us, they find conditions necessary to heal and grow up in a healthy and loving environment. They are provided with excellent nutrition, educational support to get on-level, formal schooling once on-level, trauma informed therapy, and lots of fun. Our goal is that these amazing girls grow to know that they have untouchable worth. As they do so, we aim to help these girls become cycle-breakers and leaders within their community.

Additionally, we have a goal of helping mothers provide for their children with honor and in a safe manner. We accomplish this through our workshop in which beautiful handbags and accessories bags are sewn. The women are paid a living wage, mentored, and supported through the many ups and downs of life. We know that we can - and are - breaking cycles of exploitation and are replacing them with cycles of empowerment.

Lastly, we proactively work within the community through a weekly girls club that invites young girls from the poorest portion of the community to come hear a message of hope, learn safety information, and have lots of fun as they do so! We also help provide school supplies for these same girls to ensure that barriers to education are overcome. This strategic arm also helps us identify girls who need resources or perhaps rescue.

We are actively meeting our goals and have the capabilities to carry out all the aforementioned strategies. We have the residences and highly trained staff in place to provide excellent care to the girls entrusted to us. They have weekly staff meetings in which training in trauma-informed therapy is provided to ensure there are consistent in-service opportunities for growth.

Additionally, our workshop employs 15 women, all of which are mothers. We are always seeking ways to grow in our impact and ability to serve more women and girls. For example, in 2023 we opened a fourth Safe Home for girls who are transitioning from childhood to young adulthood.

Lastly, we are growing our outreach program and have established an internship program associated with it. This will allow girls who have grown up through the program the opportunity to pour into the lives of the upcoming generation. It is beautiful and powerful to see this happen!

We have accomplished so much already - immeasurably more than we ever dreamed! We are committed to being faithful with what we hold in our hand today and are expectant that God will invite us into more - as He has done since the beginning!

When we began 13 years ago it was in a tiny shack on the side of the hill. The property was generously donated but a sweet woman in the community. It didn't have running water - but it was a sanctuary for the girls that we welcomed in our care. It was refuge. Since that time, we have grown to 4 different properties within our network of Safe Homes. Those homes are not just buildings and the care provided is not institution-like in nature. Our homes are full of light and hope. Each girl is celebrated for the unique creation that she is! It is our joy - our privilege.

When our workshop began it was women sitting around an old table, in the back room of a house, sewing embellishments on flip flops by hand. Now, we have a 3-floor production facility and a full production line as we sew beautiful bags. Wow, we have come so far! Along the way, Vera Bradley mentored our team and helped us establish patterns and the production flow. We have been mentored well and loved well by the people of Vera Bradley.

As of 2023, we are seeking to establish a Forensic Intake room on our property. It requires electronics and much cooperation from government officials. It is our goal that our girls will only have to share their painful stories one time. This honors them and helps avoid re-victimization and triggers, which happen when girls are required to repeat their story and also share it in large courtrooms or otherwise uncomfortable settings. We have already met with state-side child advocacy centers and toured their spaces to understand best practices. We believe that we can help shape the future of victim care in the Dominican Republic and this Forensic Intake room is a huge step in that direction.