Hope Beat

RAHAB is incredibly grateful this Thanksgiving…

For you.

For the many ways you have enabled us to love women where they’re at, reach them with compassion, and help bring healing and restoration. 

For your help in our efforts to provide meals, mentorship, and ministry…on the street, in strip clubs, at our Drop-In houses and in our safe houses.

God continues to show up and give us opportunities to love and serve vulnerable women and children … to be Jesus to those desperate for hope.

And, you are a critical part of it. Your prayers — your generosity — your partnership allows us to continue in this work. 

So, this Thanksgiving, we are so thankful.  For you and for the women and children we serve.  Together, you demonstrate what it means to reach above hopelessness and brokenness.  We are so honored to be on this journey with you.

—The RAHAB Team

Relationships matter.

At  RAHAB, we often say that relationship is the intervention. And that is true for the women and children we serve.  

Our relationships with donors — those who commit to support us financially — matter too. These relationships are the foundation for the work we do. They allow us to point survivors to the most important relationship of all! One with Jesus.

When donors link arms with RAHAB — with our cause — they help eradicate sex trafficking and provide real hope and help to those who need it most.

Rebecca’s Place, RAHAB’s minor safe house for young girls ages 11 to 17, sits in an undisclosed location far from the road. Since being constructed, the home’s driveway was nearly a half-mile of gravel and, depending on the season, mud, ice, or slush.

Recently one donor, who prefers to remain anonymous, committed the funds necessary to pave the driveway. This act of generosity is already making a huge difference every day. Now staff can easily navigate from the road to the home, and the girls have a place to play outside … enjoying fresh air, drawing pictures in chalk, and more. 

We continue to be grateful for every blessing — for every good gift — for the generous contributions of our friends and partners. THANK YOU to those who are obedient to living in the spirit of generosity. We couldn’t do this work without you.

Together, we’ve accomplished so much in 2020.  A few highlights include: 

• RAHAB’s participation in the Human Trafficking Summit,
• Our effective response to COVID, 
• The one-year anniversary celebration of Rebecca’s Place, 
• The opening of two new Drop-In Centers in Stark County, 
• The invitation to serve as the lead agency on the Summit County Human Trafficking Task Force

Great things are happening, lives are being changed, and restoration is the eternal end result.

In addition, we are excited to launch our much-needed transitional housing initiative — to give women coming out of residential safe housing, sober living environments, correctional facilities, and domestic violence shelters a healthy, encouraging, practical way to reengage in the community.

In 2020, RAHAB has transformed obstacles into opportunities.  We are excited to move into 2021 with momentum — and hope — and your continued help along the way.

By Emily F. Miller

The holidays provide an amazing opportunity to make the women and children RAHAB serves feel loved. 

Many know it can be difficult to spend any holiday away from friends and family, so at our two safe houses, both the adult home and Rebecca’s Place, we make sure they feel like home and keep a number of traditions. 

Thanksgiving is the perfect kickstart to a magical holiday season! Staff and volunteers alike help to provide a wonderful Thanksgiving meal. The women and girls enjoy helping prepare the food and setting and decorating the table. We spend time together as a family and watch holiday movies throughout the day. 

Before Christmas arrives, we have even more to get ready. So many wonderful RAHAB friends come together to make it truly special for our residents. Even now, still a few weeks from Christmas, donors are already providing decorations, stockings, and gifts … and signing up to make food to bless both our safe homes!

The girls at Rebecca’s Place love to help as well, making decorations and putting them all around the house. Rebecca’s Place provides the means for the girls to buy gifts for their friends and families, and they spend time with staff picking out those gifts. Last year, the girls even helped pack boxes for Operation Christmas Child. We ensure that giving is just as exciting as receiving! 

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are packed with traditions. On Christmas Eve, everyone makes Christmas cookies before going out to see Christmas lights. Once we get back to the house, we warm up with hot cocoa and enjoy the delicious cookies we made. We watch Christmas movies, and residents get to open Christmas Eve gifts like pajamas, slippers, and robes. Finally, to settle down for the evening, we read The Christmas Story at bedtime. 

On Christmas Day, we wait for everyone to wake up — no matter how excited we are — and eat breakfast together. Rather than everyone ripping into presents all at once, each one takes a turn so the others can enjoy and appreciate every gift given and received. We then serve a big Christmas dinner and celebrate throughout the day with food, movies, games, and quality time together. 

Some of our residents have never experienced a holiday celebration before. They’ve never enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal with their family … or had presents to open Christmas morning. 

We’ve seen residents tear up simply because they have never received something new — a gift with the tag still attached. Some of these women and girls have not known the holidays like most of us have … so it makes our celebration and togetherness that much more special.

The most magical part of our holidays is the feeling of unity and family in our homes. Christmas is the season we celebrate Love in the Flesh — Jesus — coming to earth for us. 

Whether our residents have celebrated every year of their lives or this is their very first Christmas celebration, we want to make it one filled with love and warmth. 

So thank you. Friends like you make it possible for women and children to experience holiday festivities they’ll never forget!