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One of the testaments to the effectiveness of
The SAGE Project's efforts is the number of municipalities
and agencies throughout the U.S. and the world that want to
replicate some or all of SAGE's programs.
What SAGE has created in San Francisco can be done in any
jurisdiction. The goals of replicating SAGE’s peer education
model are to create teaching tools and strategies to help
others replicate SAGE’s model; combat commercial sexual
exploitation through public education and by supporting community
change advocates; and deliver services to the most vulnerable
victims of abuse, trauma, violence and exploitation.
By joining forces with similar survivor-run programs, SAGE
helps to build local and nationwide capacity to combat trafficking
and sexual exploitation and support the efforts of community
change advocates, focusing on survivors of the sex industry.
SAGE's replication efforts focus primarily on exploited women
and girls, each of them a victim of violence and trauma. SAGE
and its sister organizations will create local safety nets,
webs of seamless services helping victims rebuild their lives
free from abuse.
We took exciting steps in May 2004 when Norma Hotaling, Founder
and Executive Director, and Dina Smith, Sexual Trauma Counselor,
traveled to High Point, North Carolina to provide on-site
training and consultation services to Caring Services, Inc’s
Women’s Program: First Stone. First Stone provides support
activities and programs designed to assist women in recovery.
These activities include classes on health, trauma and abuse,
sexuality, sexual exploitation, parenting, fitness, and healthy
relationships.
As SAGE reaches out to replicate its programs throughout the
U.S., EMDR Humanitarian Assistance Programs (HAP) is joining
our efforts to augment the trauma treatment offered to both
clients and peer counselors in the replication sites. EMDR
(Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a breakthrough
treatment method for addressing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD) and other conditions affected by traumatic stress.
EMDR has proven to be one of the most effective recovery tools
for trauma victims.
Working with HAP, SAGE will train peer advocates in trauma
recovery covering topics such as: Peer Counselor Skills; Trauma
& Stabilization; and Trauma & Addiction. The training
program was piloted at SAGE in October of 2004 and will be
rolled out in up to five other locations. SAGE’s goal
is to have at least two SAGE-modeled, survivor-led programs
in other cities by August 2005.
To further peer and clinician training and offer EMDR as a
treatment modality in other parts of the country, HAP and
SAGE will offer comprehensive training on EMDR to a large
multicultural group of clinicians, focusing on its use with
victims of trafficking, abuse and sexual exploitation. In
exchange for this no-cost training, clinicians will commit
pro-bono services to both clients and staff at SAGE and each
replication site.
Tentative locations for SAGE replication are High Point, North
Carolina; Kansas City, Missouri; Denver, Colorado; and Seattle,
Washington.
For more information on SAGE’s replication efforts,
please contact Kristie Miller, Replication Project Director,
(415) 358-2730. |
