Yolanda is moved by her faith. It shapes her path. As the founder of Zoe Ministries, an organization that helps trafficking survivors and to improve the justice system, it would be easy to believe this was always her passion. Yolanda’s story begins, however, at the end of her search for a job in nursing.
Yolanda felt that her faith was calling her to take a new step, to do more. At first, she believed this would be part of her work, hoping to help low-income and homeless pregnant women. But a different course opened for her. When she sought career counseling, she learned about the plight of trafficking survivors. Yolanda sought information at an out-of-state trafficking conference. She concedes she did not know much about the topic, but she was moved and in awe of the work being done with the conference. Yolanda wondered how her home state Delaware helped trafficking survivors. She was disappointed to learn about the jarring lack of support in Delaware for them. Something clicked for Yolanda: That calling she felt tugging at her heart had found a home.
She tried to get lawmakers and justice systems to acknowledge the problem and provide relief but was left on her own. This did not deter Yolanda; it fueled her faith. She saw the disappointment and lack of support as inspirations to keep fighting.
Yolanda started in small ways. She hosted conferences and information sessions. She wondered if a large enough audience was reachable even though the issue was pressing. She learned the answer when she hosted a gathering to expand on an information session. Yolanda initially set reservations for 75 people. Before the first hour, registration was full. “It had only been an hour and people were calling me and asking why it was full already,” she says. She added 25 seats, and registration reached 100 before another hour passed. Yolanda was in a tricky situation. She was paying for the program and unsure how to make ends meet if she expanded further. She took a chance: “I put my credit card on the payment and said, ‘I’ll figure it out later,’” expanding as far as possible. It was then the Matt Haley Trust reached out to her. The trust had seen her work and asked, “What do you need from us?”
The event a huge success, with standing room only. Yolanda knew this was the beginning.
Yolanda began forming Zoe Ministries, gathering a team of people and starting the larger fight. She worked and continues to work to fight systems that do not see trafficking survivors. She fights to provide them with justice and to have them seen. Yolanda believes that the abuse these survivors have endured should not debilitate them. She wants them to have a second chance, one that allows them to see redemption, love and faith.
Yolanda is launching Hannah’s House in Delaware, a haven approved for six women who are survivors of trafficking. Hannah’s House will provide a place for survivors to rebuild, reconnect and redeem.
Yolanda has found meaning in her work. She found it in the survivors she has helped and in the faith within herself and for them. For Yolanda, to seek redemption is to seek justice and faith.
