A trafficking stabilization house has opened its door in Tyler and has begun welcoming survivors into the home.
Selah Life Choices, a Christian faith based safe home run by Executive Director BJ Garrett, strives to provide safety and security for women 18 and over who are rescued out of human trafficking.
“When this opportunity was presented to me, I knew there was a huge need because, even though there’s long-term facilities all over the U.S., there are almost no stabilization centers, and that’s been the missing link for women to actually get the help that they need to be able to heal and become whole and healthy,” Garrett said.
Often, those involved in human trafficking lack the basic necessities to physically get out, such as transportation or a safe place to live.
“My overall goal is, I mean, not to be cliché, but to show them who Christ is, and that their value is more than what their body can do for them or for somebody that has purchased them, and truly just make them feel safe, secure, healthy and whole,” Garrett said.
Garrett’s passion for caring for the women who come into the stabilization home comes from her own personal experience of being trafficked in her youth.
“I was actually trafficked as a young girl right here in Tyler, Texas for most of my childhood. And then these choices that were forced upon me, I ended up working in the industry,” Garrett said. “I learned at a very young age that my only value was what I could do for a purchase, then the Lord rescued me and I became a christian and serving in full-time ministry.”
The stabilization home is situated in an undisclosed location in Tyler.
“We’re dealing with really bad people, and so it’s very important for the overall safety of our clients, of our staff and of our volunteers. To keep the location undisclosed, I would say honestly, more for just bad people in general, not so much for the trafficker, but for other people that don’t like what we’re doing,” Garrett said.
Jennifer Bailey, the founder of Selah Life Choices, began the operation after feeling the sense that there needed to be a shift involving normally unseen circumstances.
“’What’s missing? What are you guys facing?’And everyone collectively said that these women need to be stabilized before they can go into a long term safe house,” Bailey said.
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the number of persons prosecuted for human trafficking has doubled from 2011 to 2021; from 729 persons to 1,672 persons.
“The value for humankind in general, I think it’s going down, and this is one of the many ways that it’s being manifested. So I just think that there’s a lack of care and concern for one another as people,” Bailey said.
Bailey also highlights the importance of addressing trauma through neurofeedback to provide a foundation for spiritual and physical healing.
“I really feel like being able to work with these ladies to help them find balance and address that in the initial stages so that they can really have the freedom to be able to think more clearly and make better decisions for their long term success,” Bailey said.
To receive more information about Selah Life Choices, visit their website selahlifechoices.org or call their office at 903-630-1760.
If you or someone you know needs help, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline by calling 1-888-373-7888.
