The Or Project — Non-Profit in Jackson, MS fighting sexual exploitation
First, we have new board members, and we are oh-so excited about it! Be on the lookout for next month’s post where we will introduce them all to you! :)
Second, we are happy to say that this month’s Prayer Drive was a huge success. We are so grateful to everyone who came, and we encourage you to sign up for the next one (that will be happening in August) through our website here. The drives offer an opportunity for you to not just hear us talk about trafficking, but to actually see where it happens. It is a humbling, eye-opening experience and one that we think our supporters should participate in, if possible!
Now, if you’ve been following our social media, you’ve seen a small glimpse of the 3 ministry goals The Or Project is working towards. We wanted to delve deeper into those goals here to provide you all with a better understanding of where the Lord is leading The Or Project.
Our name is “The Or Project”! “Or”, (pronounced “owr”) is the Hebrew word for “be or become light”; therefore, our tagline is being or becoming the light! This is because a part of our mission is the bring light to the dark reality of sex-trafficking in America.
Our mission statement is: “The Or Project exists to serve the sexually exploited women and families of Jackson, MS, by meeting their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.” In order to accomplish this mission, the Lord has given us a vision of a ministry that is three-fold — safe houses, a transition home, and a community center.
Safe Houses
The Or Project safe houses are not shelters or long term housing options for sex workers or trafficking victims; rather, they provide immediate short-term housing for anyone who needs somewhere to go right away — whether they are in a dangerous situation or just need a place to go. Our safe houses are based in actual homes outside of the city of Jackson. They are secret locations where only The Or Project board members and the home-owners themselves knowing where these houses are. These believers, who voluntarily open up their homes to women (and if applicable, their children), will provide comfort, assurance, and wisdom as the women work on figuring out their next step, whether that be entering into our transitional home, finding a way home, getting a job, etc.
If you are interested in volunteering to be a safe home with the Or Project, we would be happy to sit down and talk more about it with you. The qualifications to be safe home parents are:
- Be a believer in Jesus Christ
2. Uphold the mission and vision statements of the Or Project
3. Have no children currently living in your home
4. Be willing to go through training
5. Be actively ready (anytime, day or night) to welcome these women (and their children if applicable) into your home
Transition Home
Our transition home will be an 18–24 month long program that will provide women previously caught in sex-trafficking with counseling, job training skills, and community. This housing opportunity will not be taken lightly and is only available for victims of sex-trafficking. As with the safe-houses, the transition home will not be located in the city of Jackson. This is because many women we are currently ministering to have expressed a desire to “get out of Jackson,” a city they have come to associate with bondage. Taking them away from the city that they now have come to associate with their victimhood we are moving them to a place where they can focus on cultivating their new identity as freed women.
Our intentions of having the transition home is to provide a safe place for women to come and receive temporary housing in order to help them grow and heal from their past experiences.
While not currently open, the transition home is a long term goal that we hope to have running in the next 5 years.
If you would like to be involved in making this goal a reality, here are a few ways you can get involved:
- Invite your church to pray for these women and for us as we seek guidance from the Lord
- We are looking for resources and curriculum for the program, so we are open to any ideas other people may have in mind
- We will be taking classes in leadership for non-profits and sex-trafficking advocate centers, so you may be able to “sponsor” these opportunities that will help better our program
Community Center — The Well
The final part of our ministry is the community center. It will be located in the heart of downtown Jackson for all to be impacted by it and have access to it! This center will provide a writing center, laundry and shower facilities, a kitchen for a nutrition class, and then other miscellaneous classes led by volunteers. We want this center to be a place of freedom and sanctuary for anyone who may need it.
Having this center will allow us to invite the women we are ministering to, to a specific location for resources and safety. The need for this center to become a reality is great.
The community center is our short term goal that we hope to have up and running within a year.
If you would like to be involved in our community center, here are a few ways you can help:
- We are looking for a building, so if you know anywhere or just want to get something off your hands, we would love to talk with you :)
- We will need volunteers to help run this center, so feel free to contact us if you are interested
- Please pray that doors will opened for Gospel opportunities in this center
Thank you so much for following us and learning more about who we are as a ministry. We hope this series has been helpful to you and that you now know ways you can be actively praying for us and get involved however the Lord leads. If you have any question or comments, please feel free to email us: contact@theorproject.com
