CLACKAMAS COUNTY, Ore. — More than two dozen volunteers from roofing companies came together for a “roofing blitz” to complete a roof in one day that will shelter girls escaping sex trafficking.
On Feb. 26, 25 volunteers gathered in Clackamas County to build a roof for Anisa’s Place, a facility that will serve as a shelter for girls ages 12 to 17 where they can recover from trauma and live in a safe environment while receiving treatment and counseling.
The home, slated to open in Spring 2020, originated with A Village for One, a Portland-based nonprofit dedicated to serving children who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation. This is the first housing project for A Village for One, which received support from Home Builders Foundation, a nonprofit that builds and renovates shelters and transitional housing for the homeless in the Portland area.
“We’re really excited, it’s a community effort,” A Village for One Executive Director Cassie Trahan told CBS-affiliated KOIN.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that the roof was completed so swiftly and thoroughly. Home Builders Foundation received help from numerous roofing professionals and companies, including National Women in Roofing (NWIR), Bliss Roofing, Malarkey Roofing, ABC Roofing and Tecta America.
Stephanie Baird, general manager of Bliss Roofing and one of NWIR’s board of directors, emphasized the need for roofing contractors to participate in outreach projects like Anisa’s Place.
“It’s a seven-bedroom home in an undisclosed area of Clackamas County that is going to take care of six young women that are caught up in the sex trafficking and exploitation problems that are so rampant in our area,” said Baird. “Community outreach is something that Bliss Roofing and myself are very much involved in, it’s important.”
KOIN reports that the partnering organizations provided the raw materials and labor at no cost.
“It’s all about partnership and people getting involved in the community. Because we couldn’t do the work that we do out here without the volunteers,” Home Builders Foundation Executive Director Brenda Ketah told KOIN.
According to Home Builders Foundation's website, the shelter is a six-bedroom home that will include a private suite with full bath and kitchenette for a live-in house manager, office and meeting spaces for case management, and a full kitchen, laundry and communal spaces for guests to enjoy. The shelter is named after Anisa Swearingen, a sexually exploited teen who was murdered in 2012.
