The Bridge2Hope Academy is a program which provides social services to undocumented victims of human trafficking in the Netherlands. This program, nominated by the AWC The Hague, received the 2020 FAWCO Foundation Safe Haven Development Grant (DG) in the amount of $5000. Sheetal Shah, the psychologist and counselor who conceptualized the research known as the Bijlmer Project, and Angelique Koopman, chair of the Bridge2Hope Foundation, gave a presentation to the AWC The Hague on June 11, 2020, which not only is an inspiring description of their collaboration and work, but also is a report on the use of FAWCO Foundation DG funds to help transition their project to a more sustainable and professional organization to create systemic change.
Sheetal's approach started from the bottom up, interviewing and recording the lives of the women, men and children who are victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation in a specific area of the Netherlands known as the Bijlmer. Working in partnership with Webster University and others, the Bridge2Hope Foundation was created to provide social services to undocumented victims of human trafficking. Most of the undocumented victims who are served by Bridge2Hope were smuggled as children into the Netherlands under false pretenses and have been sexually abused and criminally exploited for decades. Bridge2Hope stands for Advocacy, Research, and Training. Their Academy is unique because they combine social field expertise with behavioral science research. Bridge2Hope uses a group mentoring method to stabilize, rehabilitate and reintegrate sexually exploited victims.
As Angelique explains in the presentation, the process of moving from a group of concerned researchers and committed volunteers to a sustainable organization that helps to turn the experience of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to Post Traumatic Growth is one that required strategic thinking, legal assistance and long term partnerships. Bridge2Hope is growing from a local initiative to a formidable NGO.
Bridge2Hope has agreed to share the video and slide presentation with FAWCO to share their work and progress, and to inspire other local initiatives in their efforts to grow their organizations.
Presentation narrated by Sheetal Shah and Angelique Koopman (YouTube)
To download: Bridge2Hope Slide Presentation (.pptx)
