Bringing safe and loving family to sexually exploited children

www.doortograce.org

From the Desk of the Executive Director

Dear friends,

It is difficult to fathom something as painful as being a victim of child sex trafficking. As a father of a young toddler, it is heart-wrenching to imagine what a victim of child sex trafficking endures.

The truth is that each mentee at Door to Grace has suffered greatly. We meet them where they are at and work to build healthy relationships within a safe family environment.

These mentees are a reminder that the work of supporting youth in the Pacific Northwest who are escaping sex trafficking, or are at high-risk of becoming victims, is vital.

Door to Grace takes on child sex trafficking, and its prevention, in a variety of ways.

We serve our mentees both on-location, through our day home model, as well as out in the community. Our one-on-one mentoring by specially trained volunteers serves roughly two dozen mentees annually. We also facilitate group mentoring using a promising practice curriculum, “Girls Circle.” The Door to Grace mentoring program helps to build self-esteem and resilience among these exploited youths.

We also have a very exciting new Foster Care Training Program that we’re currently launching with the Oregon Department of Human Services. Door to Grace will serve upwards of 4,000 foster families by year-end 2018 through both in-person and online training. This training uses a federally recommended curriculum from the Center for States Capacity Building, which was created specifically for use with foster parents and those serving vulnerable youth. In addition, this program compiles a resource list of agencies, organizations, and programs who serve youth affected by CSEC (commercial sexual exploitation of children). This list will be provided to foster parents on a quarterly basis. This program will ultimately help to increase the likelihood that Oregon foster care families will be able to identify and protect children in their care.

Door to Grace cannot do it without you. We invite you to learn more about child sex trafficking and how you can help make an impact. We encourage you to get involved and lend your support by raising awareness of Door to Grace’s work, contributing generously, and keeping us in your prayers. Every donation helps us to relieve the suffering and empower the lives of each mentee we encounter, and provide foster care training and supports.

Thank you.

Jordan TurelExecutive Director

From the Desk of the Board President

Dear friends, You may not know this, but one of my favorite meals of the week is when I get to join the group for a “family dinner” at Door to Grace. Our girls can be found sitting around a big table, engaging in meaningful conversations, laughter, and most importantly, being around those who truly care about them. For most of our girls, this is their only family experience. Door to Grace has become an essential part of these girls’ lives, but as we enter increasingly challenging times, our needs have never been greater. We are critically evaluating our organization and studying the evolution we require to better serve our Grace Girls in the future. This includes assessing our Day Home location, as well as how we can maximize our prevention efforts going forward. The important work of Door to Grace requires support. It is only with your generosity that we can continue to focus all our attention on the girls we serve. It is only with your donations that our girls can rely on Door to Grace as a safe place where they can always go, with volunteers and staff who care about them as individuals, mentoring them as they embark on a new chapter of their lives. However, in order to continue serving our girls, we need your support. We rely on you to generously and kindly share your resources, and to also pray for our success. You will allow us to bring a sense of caring, as well as a loving family experience, to each and every new girl that walks through our door.

Thank you.

Mark O’Hollaren, MD PresidentDoor to Grace Board of Directors

“Door to Grace gave me a safe place to be, gave me a safety net of a group of ladies and males who I could count on to be there when I needed them.”

WORDS FROM A MENTEE

Door to Grace Exists to Bring Care to Exploited Children

Child sex trafficking is a growing problem within the world, the United States, and specifically here in Portland. The U.S. State Department says human trafficking is the second largest and fastest-growing criminal industry. The FBI estimates that nearly 300,000 American youths are at risk of becoming victims of commercial sexual exploitation. For example, one in six endangered runaways reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) in 2016 were likely sex trafficking victims. 86% of these likely sex trafficking victims were in the care of social services or foster care when they went missing (NCMEC).

A local Portland study of 469 trafficked children showed the average age of these exploited youth to be 15 years, and the youngest at eight years of age (Dr. Chris Carey, Portland State University). The number of U.S. and Portland victims of sex trafficking is largely unknown.

Since 2009—thanks to your support—Door to Grace has been changing the lives of girls impacted by child sex trafficking through an intensive mentoring program. Our mission is to bring safe and loving family to sexually exploited children.

The Day Home at Door to Grace provides a safe place for teenage girls and young women, many of whom have experienced trauma that is hard for most of us to imagine. The work at Door to Grace is focused on a community-based and trauma-informed approach.

Every Wednesday at Door to Grace, all mentors and mentees gather as a family for a weekly meal at the Day Home. While we have continual programming for our mentees, Door to Grace also offers a special monthly highlight event. Such events have included a tour of the Willamette River on a Jet Boat, a guided oil painting experience with a professional artist, or an afternoon riding a horse! The mentor volunteers are there in so many ways, whether to accompany a mentee to doctor's appointments, court appearances, or to simply be a guide and trusted friend.

Our Program

The FBI estimates that nearly 300,000

American youths are at risk of

becoming victims of commercial

sexual exploitation.

What is your favorite memory or favorite thing about being a part of Door to Grace?

“My favorite memory would be the rafting trip we did a few summers ago. We had so much fun and grew as a family.”

“There were honestly so many good memories but I would say my favorite group activity was when everyone went horseback riding.”

Q & AWITH DOOR TO GRACE MENTEES

Door to Grace is pleased to include group mentoring for all mentees within our program. Girls Circle—a promising practice curriculum—integrates relational theory, resiliency practices, and skills training, all with the main focus of increasing connection, strength, and competence in girls. This group mentoring is designed to foster self-esteem, help girls maintain authentic connection with peers and adult women in their community, counter trends toward self-doubt, and allow for genuine self-expression through verbal sharing and creative activity. Research Supports Girls Circle:When youth are not physically or emotionally safe, self-worth is affected because girls cannot develop trust in many relationships and settings. For example, 39% of middle school students and 36% of high school students say they don’t feel safe at school (Josephson Institute of Ethics, 2001). A national survey of girls revealed that emotional safety is as important as physical safety for girls (Girl Scout Research Institute Report, 2003).

Group Mentoring

Serving girls from Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas counties, Door to Grace helps to facilitate and provide an adult female mentor volunteer who has undergone extensive training to work with this population. Mentors help guide these teens and young women to slowly re-build their self-esteem and resiliency. They work to help girls stay in school, find and keep jobs, and rebuild their lives.

Research Supports One-on-One Mentoring:

Mentees: A study showed that the strongest benefit from mentoring, and most consistent across risk groups, was a reduction in depressive symptoms—particularly noteworthy given that almost one in four youth reported worrisome levels of these symptoms at baseline (The Role of Risk, 2013).

Mentees: In addition to better school attendance and a better chance of going on to higher education, mentored youth maintain better attitudes toward school (The Role of Risk, 2013).

Mentors: One well-established general benefit of volunteering is enhanced psychological and behavioral well-being. In addition, there are benefits specifically associated with being a mentor, including having enjoyable interactions with mentees, feeling satisfied and fulfilled as a mentor, and receiving professional development opportunities both through receiving mentor training and helping a younger protégé.

Read on to experience the story of one of our mentees.

“Even when I felt alone and had no one, not even blood family, Door to Grace and all the volunteers showed me love and had my back unconditionally…even when I pushed them away. School, doctor’s appointments, love life, getting pregnant and having kids…I was never turned away even when I was figuring out my life. I was always welcomed back with open arms whenever I need anything. I gained a forever family.”

"I GAINED A FOREVER FAMILY" WORDS FROM A MENTEE

Girls Circle

One-on-One Mentoring

Not-Yet-Vet is unfailingly kind and compassionate. She has never met an animal she didn’t love…and want to take home! She adores dogs (even pit bulls!), ferrets, cats, horses, and men who make her feel loved. She loves God and hears Him and feels Him. She knows she is God’s daughter. She has big dreams of being a vet someday…but at the same time, is in contact with predators who treat her with li le more dignity than one of the animals she so loves. She thinks that a man will fill the holes in her heart le� by a drug addicted mother and a string of abusive foster homes. Not-Yet-Vet is a magnet for the wrong men.

Of all of our mentees, we worry most about Not-Yet-Vet’s safety. She knows what it is like to have a gun held to her head. She knows what it is like to be gang raped. She knows what it is like to be beaten up, ba ered and bruised. And yet, she hangs on to her dream. She keeps walking through our doors.

It's thanks to supporters like you that we can keep our doors open to Not-Yet-Vet and other young girls like her. You are the reason we can continue to support and encourage her into a brighter future. Thank you.

Meet NOT-YET-VETA treasured Door to

Grace Mentee

• Door to Grace 101• Mandatory Reporting • Boundaries • Trauma Informed Care/Brain Development• Oppression & Privilege• Domestic Violence• Sex Trafficking• De-Escalation Training• Assertive Engagement • Self-Harm & Suicide • Bring it Back to Jesus

What Trainings are Offered at Door to Grace?

New Program: Oregon Foster Care Trainings and Support

Contact Door to Grace for more details about trainings.

We are pleased to share that Door to Grace has launched a Foster Parent Training Program with the Oregon Department of Human Services. Door to Grace will serve upwards of 4,000 foster families by year-end 2018 through both in-person and online training. This training uses a federally recommended curriculum from the Center for States Capacity Building, which was created specifically for use with foster parents and those serving vulnerable youth. In addition, this program compiles a resource list of agencies, organizations, and programs who serve youth affected by CSEC (commercial sexual exploitation of children). This list will be provided to foster parents on a quarterly basis. This program will ultimately help to increase the likelihood that Oregon foster care families will be better able to identify and protect children in their care.

Door to Grace Launches New Program with the Oregon Department of Human ServicesWinter 2018

President Obama signed H.R. 4980, the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act, on September 29, 2014. The new law, in part, amends Part E of Title IV of the Social Security Act, relating to the case planning and case review requirements for children in substitute care. The new federal law went into effect in October of 2015. In order to act in compliance with this federal legislation, the Oregon department of child welfare is implementing several protections for children and young adults affected by commercial sexual exploitation.

Background

Door to Grace Sea�leDoor to Grace’s mission in Seattle is to promote restoration and opportunity for youth who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation and are looking to gain valuable skills to equip them for the workplace. We seek to do this through assisting youth with discovery of their goals and ability, teaching concrete technical and so� skills for use in personal and professional roles, promoting financial wellbeing through hourly wage and basic financial skills, and establishing a community of support and increased opportunity moving forward.

Door to Grace partnered with Simple & Just to provide sexually exploited youth with a unique 6-week internship opportunity.

Simple & Just is a nonprofit resale shop with a mission to provide sustainable funding for agencies in Portland and Sea le that provide care to survivors of commercial sexual exploitation.

What did you learn about yourself?

Do you think the program was effective?

Q & A

Intern: "That I am capable of doing retail work. Once I get more comfortable with something I get more confident in doing it..”

Simple & Just Shopkeeper: “I definitely think the program was effective because we saw a complete change in [her] personality even down to when she would walk in the door. When she first started she wouldn't make eye contact …at the end of the program [she] would say hello right when she walked in and interacted with customers as if it was second nature.”

"I believe that our intern was surrounded by people that were completely invested in her. She was encouraged and supported daily so that she would be ready for the next step. She graduated the internship with a team of people believing in her and willing to do anything to help her."

– Simple & Just shopkeeper

Survivor Internship at Simple & Just

Thank you Simple & Just for providing physical space and financial support for Door to Grace Seattle programming and operations—we could not do it without you! 

The Survivor Internship is a trauma-informed job training program for youth operated by Door to Grace in Sea le. The internship program, offered in a retail se ing for five weeks, provides a strong coach-mentor component and progresses through a curriculum geared toward discovering creativity, employment so� skills and developing a retail-specific skillset within a safe, trauma-informed environment while youth earn an hourly wage.

WITH DOOR TO GRACE SEATTLE INTERN AND DOOR TO GRACE SHOPKEEPER

We are so grateful to our dedicated church, business, and nonprofit partners. We also wish to express our sincere thanks to the hundreds of annual individual and family donors who are not listed below. You make our work possible.

adidasAirbnbAlice E. Hoskins TrustAllstate Amazon SmileBill & Melinda Gates Foundation B.P. Lester and Regina John FoundationClackamas Bible ChurchClackamas ESD Employees AssociationCornerstone LearningDaimler Cares, Your CauseDavid J. Wright Living TrustDoor of Hope ChurchFidelityGreater GivingGresham FordA Jesus ChurchKnights of Columbus, Our Lady of the

Lake Council 3818Kroger Foods, Fred MeyerLa Salle Catholic College PreparatoryLam Research Foundation, Your CauseLebanon Calvary ChapelLife ChurchLifePoint ChurchMicroso� Multnomah Presbyterian Church

Mustard Seed FoundationNational Christian Foundation-NorthwestNetwork for GoodOregon Jewish Community FoundationOregon Youth FutsalOur Lady of the Lake Catholic ChurchRiver West Church Riversgate Church/Portland Four Square ChurchRose City MortgageSchwab CharitableShare the Dough - Panera BreadSimple & JustSt. Martin de Porres TrustStandard Insurance, Your CauseThe Benevity Community Impact FundThe Church on the MountainThe Oregon Community FoundationTigard Christian ChurchTransforming Life ChurchUnited Way ColumbiaUnited Way of King County WAVanguard Charitable TrustWeitzman Family FoundationWeston KiaWomen's University Club of Sea le Foundation

Financial Contributors: Church, Business, and Nonprofit Partners

Door to Grace is in need of caring individuals who seek to create brighter and safer futures for girls who have been sexually exploited. Here are a few ways you can stand alongside Door to Grace as we bring safe and loving family to our Grace Girls:

Our volunteer mentors are the backbone of Door to Grace, ensuring the girls who walk through our doors have an advocate who will listen to them, encourage them, and be family to them. We are always in need of loving individuals to care for these exploited young women.

Our annual Key2Free Dinner and Auction is a critical event in supporting the mission and functioning of Door to Grace all year—and it takes a whole team of volunteers and supporters to plan, contribute, and execute this wonderful event each year.

VOLUNTEER

BECOME A MENTOR

How Can I Support Door to Grace? You can partner financially with Door to Grace in the following ways:

Become a monthly donor through our online giving portal at

Provide a meal. Every Wednesday, we have dinner around the table as a family. For many of our girls, this is the only “family dinner” they will have during the week. You can support Door to Grace by providing a meal.

Or, stock our pantry. Help keep the cupboards full for the girls dropping into our Day Home.

Join us at events like Key2Free to learn more about Door to Grace and support our mission, or give an in-kind gi� for the event

Host a “Give Party”— a private, themed party designed to raise funds for Door to Grace

Give a one-time gi� through our website,

Give through Amazon Smile and Fred Meyer Rewards

IMPACT WITH FINANCIAL SUPPORT

doortograce.org/give

To learn more and take the next step, visit doortograce.org/getinvolved, or call our Director of Programs, Roxanne Weiner, at 503-747-5474.

To get involved with Key2Free as a volunteer or to learn about other volunteer opportunities, visit www.doortograce.org/getinvolved

doortograce.org/give

CONNECT WITH DOOR TO GRACE

� Subscribe to our e-newsle er at doortograce.org

Follow us on social media: � facebook.com/doortograce � @doortograce / @doortogracesea le � @doortograce)

Thank you to our generous in-kind event contributors

AbacelaAvi Resort & CasinoBaked Alaska Dining Room.Pizzeria. BarBob’s Red MillBodyVox Dance CenterBridges Café & CateringBridgeWater BistroCannery Pier HotelCarson Ridge Luxury CabinsCity of Lake Oswego Golf ClubColumbia Gorge Discovery Center & MuseumColumbia River Maritime MuseumColumbia SportswearCurious Comedy TheaterDecorum InteriorsDisneyland ResortDomaine SereneEastside DistillingThe Echo Theater CompanyEl GauchoElk Cove VineyardsEvent Team EntertainmentFlying PieGlendoveer Golf & TennisGravy Greentree Road Art StudioHawks View CellarsHen & ChicksHigginsIcicle Ridge WineryInn at Cannon BeachKaedyn HousePortland Aerial Tram Portland Japanese GardenJerry’s Rogue JetsKells Pubs & BreweryKing’s Raven WineryLakewood Theatre Company

Lan Su Chinese GardenLloyd Center Ice RinkMarine Discovery ToursMariner Square – Newport ORMcMenamins EdgefieldMichael Allen HarrisonMoPop – Museum of Pop CultureNational Automobile Museum, Reno NVNew Rose Ta ooNoonday CollectionNorthwest Hydro-Mulchers, Inc.Bureau of Police – City of PortlandThe Oregon Golf ClubOswego Hills Vineyard and WineryThe Paramount HotelPastini PastariaPat n Pat Fundraising AuctionsPix PatisseriePivot GroupPortland Baroque OrchestraPortland Columbia SymphonyPrasad RestaurantPumpkin Ridge Golf ClubQuail Valley Golf CourseSayler’s Old Country KitchenScreen DoorSlabtown ToursSseko DesignsSt. Josef’s Estate Vineyards & WineryStumptown Coffee RoastersTaylor Mason Art & DesignThe Gro oTom JamesWildlife SafariWillame e Valley VineyardsWomen of Vision Columbia – Willame e Chapter

Thank you to our generous donors who contributed a�er the print deadline for this booklet.

“Even when I felt alone and had no one not even blood family, Door to Grace and all the volunteers showed me love and had my back unconditionally…even when I pushed them away. School, doctor’s appointments, love life, getting pregnant and having kids…I was never turned away even when I was figuring out my life. I was always welcomed back with open arms whenever I need anything. I always knew who to come to sometimes before my family, even conquering my fears. I gained a forever family.”

www.doortograce.org facebook.com/doortograce @doortograce / @doortograceseattle @doortograce