FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 29, 2024
Worcester, MA — The Safe Exit Initiative (SEI) proudly hosted the grand reopening of Harbor, a newly renovated community-based resource center and day shelter, on Wednesday, August 28, 2024. The event was marked by a ribbon-cutting ceremony, attended by local government officials, community leaders, and members of the public, all coming together to celebrate the enhanced services and expanded capacity of the facility.
Harbor, operated by SEI, has been a crucial resource for individuals with lived or living experience in the sex trade seeking assistance in Worcester. The renovations have transformed the first floor of the facility, making it more accessible and better equipped to meet the needs of the community. Attendees had the opportunity to tour the upgraded space, which now includes a fully functional kitchen, a donation closet, and newly designed areas to facilitate the delivery of essential services.
“It has taken a lot of hard work to get here today, and we want to thank our SEI staff and our supporters for their dedication.”, said Audra Doody, co-Executive Director & Chief Programs Officer. “The renovations to create the Drop-In Space on the first floor and administrative offices on the second floor, putting both departments under one roof, has been a goal of ours since 2019.”
The event featured remarks from SEI leadership, including co-Executive Directors Audra Doody and Courtney Ross Escobar, alongside Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty, City Councilor District 4 Luis A. Ojeda, State Representative David LeBoeuf, State Representative Mary Keefe, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early, Jr., Worcester County Sheriff Lewis Evangelidis, State Senator Robyn Kennedy, and President/CEO of the Worcester Chamber, Tim Murray.
“SEI has been quietly reorganizing, rebuilding, and rebranding over the past several months.”, said Courtney Ross Escobar, co-Executive Director & Chief Operations Officer. “We are excited to share what we’ve been working on with our community today and in the coming months!”
Harbor’s services include access to harm reduction and hygiene supplies, support groups, food, clothing, and both medical and legal services. The center also operates a mobile outreach van, which extends these vital services into the community, ensuring that help is available to those who need it most.
The Safe Exit Initiative would like to extend its heartfelt thanks to everyone who attended the event and to the many partners and stakeholders who made the renovation and reopening of Harbor possible.
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About Safe Exit Initiative
Safe Exit Initiative (SEI) is a survivor-led nonprofit organization based in Worcester, Massachusetts with a mission to create safe and sustainable exits from exploitation and the sex trade through quality programming, strategic partnerships, and comprehensive legislative initiatives.
For more information about Safe Exit Initiative and its work, please visit https://safeexitinitiative.org.
Media Contact:
Kyla Pacheco
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 21, 2024
Worcester, MA – The Safe Exit Initiative (SEI) is proud to announce that it has been awarded a $300,000 grant from The Jensen Project. This generous funding will support SEI's pro bono legal clinic, The Advocacy Project, which is dedicated to assisting people with living or lived experience in the sex trade.
The Advocacy Project provides critical legal services to assist in overcoming the legal barriers that hinder their ability to achieve sustainable exits from exploitation. This funding from The Jensen Project is crucial in sustaining the program and ensuring that SEI can continue its mission of providing quality programming that is comprehensive and accessible for people in the sex trade.
"We are incredibly grateful to The Jensen Project for their commitment to our work," said Courtney Ross Escobar, Esq., co-Executive Director & Chief Operations Officer at SEI. "This grant will enable us to provide vital legal assistance to those who need it most, break cycles of exploitation, and rebuild lives."
The Jensen Project's support of The Advocacy Project underscores the importance of collaborative efforts in addressing the complex challenges faced by those involved in the sex trade.
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About Safe Exit Initiative
Safe Exit Initiative (SEI) is a survivor-led nonprofit organization based in Worcester, Massachusetts with a mission to create safe and sustainable exits from exploitation and the sex trade through quality programming, strategic partnerships, and comprehensive legislative initiatives.
For more information about Safe Exit Initiative and its work, please visit https://safeexitinitiative.org.
Media Contact:
Kyla Pacheco
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 22, 2024
It has come to the attention of Safe Exit Initiative (SEI) that the EVA Center released a statement in response to the recent arrest of Michael Cox, and that the statements of the EVA Center are being conflated as representative of the EMMA Coalition and its members as a whole. This is not true. Though we cannot control the actions of the EVA Center or their leadership team, SEI is compelled to express our dismay at the insensitive tone, inflammatory remarks, and unreasonable calls to action contained in their statement.
SEI and the EVA Center belong to the EMMA Coalition, along with a number of other organizations in advocacy of legislation for partial decriminalization of prostitution. There is no other association between SEI and the EVA Center outside of this coalition. The opinions expressed by the EVA Center in their statement are not shared by SEI, nor do we condone its contents or share the perspectives expressed therein.
We believe progress is made when we focus on reaching common ground through working collaboratively, not through attacking one another or dismissing opposing points of view. SEI is committed to working together with state and local legislators and other stakeholders on initiatives that provide positive impacts across all the rich and diverse communities of the Commonwealth.
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About Safe Exit Initiative
Safe Exit Initiative (SEI) is a survivor-led nonprofit organization based in Worcester, Massachusetts with a mission to create safe and sustainable exits from exploitation and the sex trade through quality programming, strategic partnerships, and comprehensive legislative initiatives.
For more information about Safe Exit Initiative and its work, please visit https://safeexitinitiative.org.
Media Contact:
Kyla Pacheco
WORCESTER, Mass., June 11, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Safe Exit Initiative (SEI), a survivor-led organization dedicated to safe and sustainable exits from the sex trade, has been awarded a prestigious opportunity to conduct two years of research into the relationship between casinos, casino resorts and sex trafficking in the Commonwealth.
The grant, provided by Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC), recognizes survivors’ lived expertise and values their contributions to the Commonwealth’s understanding of the complex dynamics that underlie issues of human trafficking. SEI’s proposed study seeks to answer questions related to survivors’ experiences of sex trafficking in casinos and how casinos influence sex trafficking, as well as identifying services and supports that survivors of trafficking need, and ways casinos can be proactive in identifying and responding to sex trafficking on their premises and in their surrounding communities.
Safe Exit Initiative
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