November Nonprofit: Living in Freedom Together (LIFT)

By Dani Babineau

Throughout the pandemic, the most vulnerable people in our communities have become even more vulnerable. How does someone without a home - or living in an unsafe environment - shelter in place? How do people on the street socially distance? And furthermore, how do the people dedicated to helping vulnerable people do so while keeping themselves safe?

That’s the challenge that our November nonprofit, Living in Freedom Together (LIFT), has grappled with this year. LIFT provides resources, advocacy, and support to empower individuals to exit and recover from the impacts of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE), and to end prostitution. And a lot of what they do, including providing medical help and supplies and running a recovery home, simply requires person-to-person interaction.

Thankfully, LIFT is run by some pretty incredible and inspiring people who have not only been able to continue providing their services safely, but even expand their support during these trying times. We spoke to Nikki Bell, LIFT’s CEO, about the changes and progress they’ve made in the past year. Read on to learn more.

Let's start on a positive note - what has LIFT accomplished in the past year that you're most proud of?

I could go on and on about how proud I am of the team at LIFT and all we have accomplished during this difficult time. I think something we are very proud of is the fact that during a global health pandemic when everyone was shutting down face-to-face services and support, the team at LIFT continued to show up. We recognize that it isn’t feasible to provide telehealth and other services remotely to the survivors we support, so we carefully rolled out mobile outreach services - obviously utilizing PPE and other safety measures for our team and the vulnerable survivors we support, we expanded our services to include youth mentoring to exploited youth in our city, and we advocated for and operated an emergency shelter for women experiencing homelessness in our community.  

We are a small but mighty team and have accomplished so much during this unprecedented time.

How has COVID impacted LIFT and what changes have you made to adjust?

I think something people are not talking about is the reality of surviving prostitution during a global health pandemic. Here, the Governor is mandating shelter in place orders and mask orders, and for many prostituted women those things are just impossible. How do you shelter in place when you don’t have a home, or maybe the home you have isn’t safe? How do you practice social distancing and wear a mask as men are paying to access your body. I know sometimes people think I am a bit blunt, but the reality is that men that are paying to access vulnerable women’s bodies in our community do not care about the safety and wellbeing of the women they are abusing, nor the rest of the community. 

We have had to shift operations in many different ways, including opening and operating the new programs mentioned above. Part of our role was providing real and factual information about COVID to prostituted women that were not getting the right information - most aren’t watching the news or reading the newspaper. We thought it was important they understand the reality of what was happening in the world so they could protect themselves the best ways they knew how.

Last year, our customers raised $2,550 for LIFT - how did those funds help, and what might this year's donations go toward?

These funds helped us provide direct support to and meet the basic needs of survivors, including clothing, transportation, and other vital resources.  

This year the funds will be used to support LIFT’s newest program, HARBOR (Healthcare, Advocacy, Room, Board, Outreach, and Rehousing). It’s a day resource center and 15-bed shelter for exploited women experiencing homelessness in our community. Our zero barrier access shelter will provide vital support for survivors.

How else can people support LIFT during these trying times?

LIFT is always in need of support from our community, including monetary and material donations as well as helping us change the narrative around prostitution and the sex trade. Follow us on our social media and help us educate the community on the realities of the sex trade by following our pages and sharing our message! We also have internship and job opportunities for those who wish to join the movement to end prostitution. 

Facebook: @LivingInFreedomTogether

Instagram: @LiftWorcester

LinkedIn: @Living In Freedom Together (LIFT) Inc

Twitter: @LiftWorcester

Website: LiftWorcester.org