Women striving to break free from human trafficking, prostitution and addiction need acceptance and a safe place to recover from the trauma of life on the streets. Since 2018, Jasmine Road has provided that haven, offering free housing, basic needs, health care and coordinated services to help women rebuild their lives.
Together with Bon Secours Health System and church partners, Jasmine Road recently finished renovations on a new residence which will triple the number of women it can serve. In addition to housing current participants, the new space will include two transitional apartments for graduates, giving them more time to build connections and thrive.
“This allows us to provide safe housing and much-needed services to more women in our community who need a safe place to call home,” says Beth Messick, executive director.
The two-year residential program connects survivors with resources like counseling, addiction group meetings, and classes in financial literacy and job skills through community partners like the Phoenix Center, Goodwill Industries, and United Ministries. Partnerships also offer opportunities to make lasting, positive connections.
“We can’t do this without our community,” Messick says. “When women come to us, many don’t identify as survivors, or even understand what has happened to them. They don’t have any significant relationships that are safe, and they have no idea what healthy relationships look like. Here they find love and support for their journey and become sisters for life.”
After completing phase one of the program, residents are employed and can develop job skills through the nonprofit’s social enterprises, making hand-poured candles and jewelry sold in Jasmine Road’s online store, or working at Jasmine Kitchen, a popular lunch spot with a cheerful atmosphere and a tempting-yet-healthy menu. Proceeds from the restaurant, as well as sales of clothing, baked goods, and other products, support the work of Jasmine Road.
“Our social enterprises provide employment and transferable job skills so that ladies can launch back into the community as productive members who are sober, safely housed, employed full time and able to support themselves,” Messick says.
Taking a break from her work, a Jasmine Kitchen employee greets Messick with a bright smile, radiating confidence. She speaks enthusiastically about the program, which she’s participated in for a year and a half. She contrasts her current life, filled with friends, activities, and meaningful work, with a time when she “didn’t have anything to smile about.”
“I’m enjoying a brand new life that’s the result of extremely hard work I’ve done on myself that was only possible because Jasmine Road carved out a space and time for women like myself to heal, blossom, and grow,” she says.
Jasmine Road’s graduation success rate is 70% for those who stayed through phase one of the three phase program and 100% for those who stayed through phase two. Programs like this serve not just survivors, but the community at-large, Messick says, citing resources used by just one woman who was arrested 22 times in less than three years.
“That’s 22 police officers, judges and public defenders and all the expenses of incarceration and general sessions court,” she says. “It’s a much better investment to launch women back into society where they can contribute as taxpayers, reunify with family members and change the community for generations.”
The most pressing need is for operational funding to cover costs at the new residence.
“Many fund holders at the Community Foundation support Jasmine Road because they believe in its mission to offer women who are trapped in a cycle of abuse a path to freedom and healing,” says Bob Morris, CFG president. “It is no surprise that Jasmine Road was also a 2018 Greenville Women Grant recipient of $100,000.”
For more information, visit https://www.jasmineroad.org/.
