Salt Lake City—With enough donations, the doors will open soon for Utah’s first home to provide shelter, therapy and case management for sex trafficking survivors. The Aspen House is located in Salt Lake County and will use the Thistle Farms model, a solutions-oriented program with a 75% success rate of helping exploited women start living successful, financially independent lives.
Utah ranks in the top ten per capita for calls into the National Human Trafficking Hotline for sex trafficking. Law enforcement say recent trafficking arrests are just the “tip of the iceberg” concerning the problem in the Beehive State. Trafficking has long-term, devastating effects including trauma, poverty, mental health challenges, addiction, criminal records and barriers to housing and employment.
The Aspen House has a home-like setting with seven-bedrooms, two kitchens and a spacious yard for the survivors to recover and heal from sexual exploitation, trafficking and addiction. The home is one of 57 programs nationwide and 35 more in development with Thistle Farms. The program provides a safe place to live, a meaningful job and a lifelong sisterhood.
Survivor Input
Most sex trafficking victims in Utah grew up here and did not come from other countries. Brittany and Brandy Garcia were raised by parents suffering from addiction and mental illness. Their vulnerabilities made them targets of the men who trafficked them. The sisters now serve on the Aspen House Board and say a program like this would have helped them heal much sooner.
“After years of healing from the trauma of being trafficked, I wanted to help other survivors of human trafficking find a place to heal,” said Brittney Garcia. “That’s why working with Aspen House is helping to increase awareness while providing survivors a nourishing home-like residence to thrive in.”
Community Leadership
The Aspen House Board includes Pamela Atkinson, community activist and advisor to Utah Governor Cox, Utah Rep. Sandra Hollins, sex trafficking survivors, industry and community leaders and other advocates for exploited women. The board is in the middle of a capital campaign to help pay for the house, renovations, furnishings and ongoing support for residents.
“Every community needs the Thistle Farms model,” said Atkinson. “Utah women who have been trafficked need solutions that surround them with love and offer an opportunity to heal, which is exactly what this model offers.”
Benevolent Partners
Aspen House is partnering with the following organizations to provide services:
- Collective Recovery is offering substance abuse counseling, therapy and drug testing
- St. Marks Family Medicine is providing medical services
- University of Utah School of Dentistry is giving dental services
- Fit to Recover is delivering fitness, nutrition and art classes
- Dahlia’s Hope is offering referrals, counseling services and activities
- Volunteers Of America is giving detox services and outreach
- Soap to Hope is furnishing referrals and outreach
Aspen House is committed to transparency and accountability so donors know exactly how donations are being spent.
About Aspen House
The Aspen House is in Salt Lake County and it is the first home in Utah for sex trafficking survivors. The organization’s mission is to provide a home-like residence by offering a safe and nurturing environment to empower women on a path to self-sufficiency. The Aspen House is part of the Thistle Farms community that began in 1997, the program is expanding across the U.S. by providing safe homes, meaningful jobs, services and a lifelong sisterhood of support. More information about the Aspen House can be found at https://aspenhouseslc.org/.
Media Contact
Paul Murphy
801-971-7247