Our Vision is women exiting sexual exploitation and discovering their identity.
Next Step Ministries was established in 2010 help meet the needs of vulnerable and exploited people in the community of Calgary. Today, Next Step Ministries has five programs that work together to help women exit sexual exploitation and move toward a life of hope and healing.
Our Mission is to walk alongside women exiting sexual exploitation as they break the cycle of addiction and abuse.
The need is larger than what we first realized. In 2014, the City of Calgary put out a report called the Prostitution Response Framework, which states that there are as many as 3,000 prostitutes in Calgary. This, along with an unrelenting stream of women coming into our program has led Next Step Ministries to increase our capacity over the years in order to serve as many women as possible.
Our Goal is to have a safe place for every woman who wants to exit sexual exploitation.
Our Participants come to us facing many challenges. Each one of them has a history of being sexually exploited, close to 95% of the women come with a history of substance abuse, 100% require mental health support for diagnosable conditions (bipolar, depression, PTSD, and anxiety are the most common trends), they have a long list of physical challenges, and 93% come with criminal records and have an extensive history with law enforcement.
We track measurable outcomes for the women, but our ultimate desire when they leave Next Step Ministries is that they know that they are loved by God, loved by our team and that they have choices in life. Our programs at Next Step Ministries are designed to help the Participants recover from their past and move forward with hope into their future. This happens through demonstrating healthy relationships with both our staff and volunteers as they walk alongside them. We have five specific programs representing our care system for the women.
The Outreach Program meets women exiting sexual exploitation where they are at, helping them access resources and create an exit plan for those ready to move forward.
The Housing Program provides second-stage housing for women exiting sexual exploitation. They are given their own room with a key so they have a safe place to call their own.
While the women are in the Housing Program, they attend classes in the Day Program four days a week where they work on recovery and life skills, which is all facilitated through a trauma informed lens.
We offer a long term Follow Care Program, which helps the women get jobs, permanent housing and follow their educational goals. Participants are able to access staff support at any time.Next Step Ministries relies heavily on our many supporters. We can’t do it without our community working with us on this issue. Here are some ways you can get involved and support us:
Opportunities to Serve with Next Step Ministries:
Simply contact us at [email protected] and we will get you going!
The women in our programs need our prayers, and so do our volunteers and staff. This is a vast, dark issue we are in the middle of, and prayer makes a significant impact on everything we are doing.
Email us at [email protected] if you want to be put on our prayer list.
Donate to Next Step Ministries
Your generous gifts allow us to respond to the victims of sexual exploitation who come to us with almost nothing but the clothes they are wearing. Because of you, we are able to provide housing, basic needs, emotional and spiritual support to these women as they walk the long, hard road to recovery. Click Here to donate now.
Call 403-520-8080 or email [email protected] for details.