Bridging Safety to Stability: Replicating The Emerging Adult Program for Survivors of Human Trafficking and Exploitation - Eden Centers for Hope and Healing (Eden Centers) submits this proposal in response to WH-AST-26-002, Protecting Women and Girls through Founding and Replication of Existing Long-Term Safe Homes. This project will replicate and expand its two-year long-term residential recovery home model by adding 16 beds for an age-responsive residential continuum for survivors of sexual exploitation and human trafficking in Louisiana, the Southeastern United States, and across the nation. Under the Eden Centers continuum of care, the proposed project will enhance and expand the organization's existing therapeutic residential recovery program by operating a specialized long-term, trauma-informed therapeutic residential recovery program tailored to the developmental and recovery needs of survivors of sexual exploitation and human trafficking for ages 18-24, The Emerging Adult. The Emerging Adult (A Young Adult Program) will be a specialized long-term residential recovery home for survivors ages 18–24, designed to address the unique developmental, educational, emotional, and economic needs of young adult women recovering from sexual exploitation and human trafficking. Together, this program will function as a replicated, trauma-informed long-term therapeutic recovery program continuum that offers age-appropriate residential care, safety planning, clinical services, case management, education and workforce development, life-skills development, and long-term stabilization. This model recognizes that survivors at different life stages require specialized pathways to healing. Young adult survivors ages 18–24 often fall into a dangerous gap between youth-serving and adult-serving systems and need a structured environment focused on identity development, education, independent living, and prevention of re-exploitation. The proposed project will increase access to safe, therapeutic residential placements for young adult women recovering from trafficking and sexual exploitation in the State of Louisiana, the Southeastern United States, and across the nation. It will also strengthen Eden Centers’ long-term capacity to provide specialized residential care by enhancing staffing, expanding clinical and supportive services, strengthening multidisciplinary partnerships, and building a sustainable operational framework that ensures high-quality trauma-informed care for survivors.
