Healing & Freedom
When a healing-centered environment is created, work itself becomes part of the healing journey.”
Fatima had little choice concerning the direction of her life. Her mother was forced to work in a brothel and it was expected she would follow the same path. Seeing her mother’s abuse was to look into her own future, a future that no matter how much she sought to avoid, would inevitably come to pass.
“It was impossible for me to think about how to escape from there” shared *Fatima
This is despair.
But opportunity came for *Fatima through way of employment at Aruna, a member of the Freedom Business Alliance and leader in creating a healing-centered workplace.
Fatima’s life was filled with significant trauma, and the impact of trauma endures even when the threats no longer exist. But the staff at Aruna are trauma-informed, and through her work there *Fatima is holistically cared for and empowered.
Her life is no longer marked by despair – instead she is filled with hope.
She shared, “[Aruna] gives an opportunity to those who are denied it and I love that. When I think about the future, I hope to graduate in Social Work and want to be a social worker for [Aruna] to help others the way I was helped.”
The commitment to creating a healing-centered workplace sets Freedom Businesses apart from other social enterprises.
As *Fatima’s story highlights, a healing-centered workplace is more than a safe place to work. When a healing-centered environment is created, work itself becomes part of the healing journey.
The healing journey emboldens survivors like *Fatima to look beyond themselves and create positive change for others. She used the money saved through her employment at Aruna to free her mother from the brothel that had held her captive for years.
But creating healing-centered workplaces doesn’t just happen because of good intentions. It requires that Freedom Business leaders understand how trauma effects the body and mind, and how trauma shows up at work.
One of our goals at the FBA is to train and equip our members with the tools they need to implement trauma-informed principles and create safe, healing spaces for their employees.
Later this year we will be offering trauma-informed training to mid-level managers in the Freedom Business movement. These managers, who work directly with survivors of trafficking and those at-risk, will learn the skills they need to lead and support their employees.
We want to see survivors of human trafficking and those at risk, like *Fatima, thrive.
Our goal is to raise $20,000 USD so that all of our member businesses can participate in this trauma-informed training. Will you join us?
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