In the back of Thistle Farms, a bath and beauty shop in Nashville, women are busy at work, making and packing gifts.
Every employee at Thistle Farms, including the ones in the shop’s attached cafe, are survivors of sex trafficking, prostitution, or addiction — “some of the oldest scars humanity’s ever dealt,” Becca Stevens, the founder and president of Thistle Farms, says.
Where her employees would be without Thistle Farms, one doesn’t know — possibly dead, she believes.
Stevens knows of scars herself. Her father died young, and Stevens suffered child abuse, experiences that instilled in her a deep desire to provide a safe, stable place for healing. A place where community and love could help people overcome trauma and addiction with ample time, the ability to build their own financial freedom, and start a path of realizing their full potential.
From her initial shelter that dream has grown into Thistle Farms, where 75% of graduates continue to lead independent, healthy lives five years after finishing the program. And it’s now on track to grow into 40 cities.
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