In early 2025, Bakhita Empowerment Initiative received a call from an emergency women’s shelter in Louisville. A woman had just escaped her trafficker and was dropped off by law enforcement—traumatized, terrified, and unsure where to turn.

“We reached out to Bakhita,” said the shelter’s director, “because they are one of the leading programs in the country helping survivors of sex and labor trafficking. We knew she’d be safe with them.”

Bakhita case managers immediately responded, conducting a screening and confirming that the woman had survived both sex and labor trafficking. She had endured years of exploitation. Now, she needed safety, healing, and a chance to rebuild.

In partnership with the shelter, Bakhita coordinated an extraordinary, multi-agency response: long-term housing, mental health support, medical treatment, food assistance, and job placement. The survivor had to be relocated across state lines—but for the first time, she arrived at a home that was truly hers.

Today, she is receiving long-term case management services through Bakhita. She is healing. She is rebuilding. And for the first time, she is hopeful.

“Without Bakhita,” the shelter director shared, “this woman’s life might have slipped through the cracks. Instead, she has a chance at a safe, healthy future.”

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