Thank you for completing this referral form! New Hope is anxious to partner with Arkansas DHS /DCFS in the restoration of youth who have a known or likely history of human trafficking and who meet the “Referral Criteria.”
Services Offered:
New Hope seeks to provide:
- Mentoring to youth meeting the referral criteria
- Other supportive services and activities for both the youth themselves and their foster families.
In the event that DHS should be contacted concerning care for any trafficking survivors not within the AR DHS system, New Hope will accept referrals from any location in Arkansas to assist in finding restorative placements for these survivors. Our contact information may be shared with any agency or individual.
Referral Criteria:
New Hope will accept NEW REFERRALS for youth meeting these criteria:
- Male or female youth
- Ages 6-17
- (For youth who attain the age of 18 while already being served by New Hope, a relationship with a mentor may continue at the discretion of the mentor and mentee.)
- Known or suspected history of sex or labor trafficking or sexual exploitation
- (A field exists within the form to describe the youth’s known history, or to explain why you suspect trafficking. You may instead complete the included screening tool.)
- Voluntary Participation
- New Hope CURRENTLY will ONLY accept youth whose participation is voluntary
- Residing within a 35 mile radius of Russellville, AR
- As we add new volunteers, our service area will expand and this bullet point will change.
- Without active psychosis, suicidal or homicidal ideation, or condition indicating locked placement
- Without a pattern of violence towards persons within the last year
New Hope staff will meet with the foster family and with the youth themselves prior to assignment of a volunteer mentor. Mentors are assigned as our volunteer availability permits. A mentor will be assigned who is of the same sex as the student.
As volunteer availability allows, we will attempt to assign a mentor of the same race as the student to provide a positive role model to whom the student can readily relate. If a mentor of the same race is unavailable, a mentor of a different race will of course still be assigned. New Hope provides services without discrimination except as pertaining to the referral criteria.
For questions, please contact us by phone at 501-777-5955 or via email at referrals@newhopeyouth.org.
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Our mentor program is up and running! We have mentors that are trained and ready to spend time with children in this area that are trafficking survivors. DHS is also on board and excited about our program. Art Heathcock has had multiple meetings to explain the program to caseworkers for the surrounding counties. If you would like to be a mentor or support this program, we would love to hear from you.
The State Department has an Office on Trafficking In Persons. Their mission is “To combat human trafficking by supporting and leading systems that prevent trafficking through public awareness and protect victims through identification and assistance, helping them re-build their lives and become self-sufficient.” They have been very busy this year. Below are their stated goals and a few of their recent achievements.
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