NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — After 25 years of serving female survivors of trafficking, prostitution and addiction, Thistle Farms is ushering in new leadership and a new look.
"There's been phenomenal growth not only right here in Nashville, but we have 560 beds around the country. We have 30 global partners, all dealing with the universal issues that women carry on their individual backs. You know, the world has changed in those 25 years and we have to grow and change to meet the new needs, yet stay focused on our mission," explained Thistle Farms Founder and President Becca Stevens.
Thistle Farms started serving the Nashville community in 1997.
"We believe that love heals. And we are committed to helping women who have been victim of commercial sexual exploitation find a place of healing. And we want to do that not just here in Nashville. But we want to do that across the world," stated new Thistle Farms CEO Tasha Kennard.
"It fills a gap in our community and our sister agencies and our affiliates feel that same gap in their community. We provide two years of free housing, therapy and support for women who are coming off the streets who've been left behind," explained Kennard. "They're living under a bridge. They're living in a tent. They've lost their hope no one else is giving them a chance and we're about second chances, and third chances."
Thistle Farms employs the women it serves making its cafe and shop operate as a social enterprise.
"By coming here and eating lunch with us by purchasing something in our shop or online. You're paving the path for the next woman to come into the program. And that list is long, you know there are lots of women that want to find this help. And we want to be in a position to be able to provide it," stated Kennard.
One of Thistle Farms' employees, LaTisha, went through Thistle Farms' two-year program starting in 2011 after battling an addiction.
"If I hadn't found this program? I would be dead. Like, I would literally be dead or in a mental institution," stated Burns.
After graduating from the organization's program in 2013, Burns later became a shop assistant at the location on Charlotte Pike.
"I went through the muck in the mud. God brought me out and that now I'm introduced to a whole lot of opportunities that I never would have got introduced to before I came to this program," said Burns. "So, life is great and this is a program that seriously does what it says, it literally changed lives because it's changed mine... this is a generational curse breaker for me."
To mark the company's 25th year of helping women like Burns find a fresh path, new branding emerged in late September alongside new products.
Stevens says during the next chapter, she plans for the organization to continue to play a role in the Nashville community.
"There's all kinds of ways that cities brand themselves and market themselves and I think after 25 years, we are a part of Nashville story. And we are part of saying ‘Nashville knows how to love and care for one another especially women who have been neglected,'" said Stevens.
