Check Out Heather Starr’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Heather Starr

Hi Heather, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was a stay at home mom for 15 years. I have four kids, and I was home with them from the time the oldest was born until the youngest started school. Once they were all out of the house every day, I needed something to fill my time. But I also knew I wanted that to be something that I really felt was worth it to me. So I decided to pursue my Masters Degree in Social Justice and Human Rights. I started the program thinking I was going to work with refugees, but by the end I had shifted my focus to the topic of violence against women. In my early life, before I met my husband, I had a a lot of first-hand experience with various abuses. I was molested at age 5 and raped at age 16. My mom was married to a man who was physically and emotionally abusive to both of us from the time I was 3 until I was 13. My boyfriend before I met my husband was physically, emotionally, and sexually abusive as well. That relationship lasted seven years. Violence against women was a topic that I knew very well, and decided I needed to go that path instead. One of the last classes I took was on human trafficking, and something about the issue just really called to me. I’m not sure why. Maybe because it felt worse than my own experiences? Maybe because it was in a similar arena but also completely different? I really can’t say, but what I knew was that the anti-trafficking field was my calling. It was 100% where I belonged. I wanted to be there for people who needed someone. So after I graduated, I got a job working as a human trafficking case manager for a local organization. That’s where I met the woman who became my co-founder for Lotus Foundation. After working in the field and seeing the services (and lack thereof) first hand, we knew we wanted to do things differently than how they were being done. And so Lotus Foundation was born.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’m not sure that there is any such thing as a smooth road. When it came to starting Lotus, we kind of just jumped in both feet without any preparation. Several of the survivors that we were already working with wanted to come with us because we had built bonds and connections with them. So Lotus started out with six clients before we even had so much as a name. The first year was definitely a lot of learning as we went, and I can’t say I would recommend this method to anyone! But I’m also kind of glad we did it the way that we did because I feel like I learned a lot more, a lot quicker, than I would have if I had done things ‘the right way.’ I have really built this thing from the ground up and I’m honestly a little bit proud of myself for that.
Our biggest challenge is really just funding. While growing the organization for the past two years, the one thing that never changes is that we need more money. I don’t take a salary because I want to ensure every dollar we bring in goes to the cause. We are one of very few nonprofits that is entirely volunteer run. Whenever anyone donates to Lotus, they can feel confident that 100% of their support is going exactly where they want to it to go – to serving survivors of human trafficking.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Lotus Foundation provides direct services to survivors of both sex and labor trafficking.

Our program is designed to provide comprehensive and individualized services to survivors of human trafficking, with the goal of seeing them lead a safe, healthy, and independent life. All services are guided by the survivor. The advocates are there to support and walk alongside survivors in their journey, but that path is chosen by the survivor. The details of services each survivor receives are completely individualized and guided by them. No two survivors have the same story, same background, or are in the same place in life, and therefore cannot be treated or supported in one standard method.

Lotus Foundation offers three types of direct service areas for survivors in order to present custom wrap-around service options. These three areas are emergency services, confidential advocacy services, and long term case management services.

1. Emergency Services – Lotus Foundation assists survivors with emergency and urgent needs as they exit their trafficking situation or begin the rebuilding of their own lives. We can provide crisis response when requested, assist survivors with transportation to safety, assist survivors in locating emergency shelter, supply survivors with material items, such as food, clothing, or hygiene products as needed. Additionally, Lotus Foundation will assist survivors in accessing emergency medical care and/or SANE exams when requested, via referral, transportation, and/or accompaniment.

2. Confidential Advocacy – Lotus Foundation and its advocates are fully confidential as protected by Colorado’s Revised Statute 13-90-107. Exclusively with a survivor’s written permission, Lotus Foundation will advocate on their behalf as needed. This could entail assistance with filing a police report, or filing for a protection order. It could also be referrals to outside resources within the community, such as trauma-informed therapy, legal assistance, substance use treatment, or residential programs. Lotus Foundation advocates are certified application assistants with Colorado’s Address Confidentiality Program, and enrolling a survivor in this program is one aspect of advocacy services. Confidential advocacy services may also include intervention with a landlord or employer, or access to interpreters as needed for each individual. We can also attend court dates or medical appointments with survivors when requested.

3. Long-term Case Management – Lotus Foundation offers long-term case management services to every survivor. Note: A survivor is not required to partake in long-term case management in order to receive emergency services or confidential advocacy. Each survivor’s needs and service plans are individual to them, and guided entirely by them. When a survivor opts to partake in case management, the process begins with an evaluation of each individual’s specific needs, goals, and plans for their future. Case management services include basic safety planning and general emotional support. This could also include assistance filing for public benefits, such as Medicaid and SNAP. Lotus Foundation also can assist survivors with locating a permanent residence, building a resume, and obtaining a job. Another aspect of case management is locating services needed and referring out to community partners for specific services that Lotus Foundation does not provide. Case management is guided by the survivor and their needs, and is available to them for as long as they would like. There is no limitation on length of services or minimum enrollment length required.

In short, whatever each individual needs in order to begin their new life, we do our best to provide.

Lotus Foundation quickly became known through the community as a kind of ‘catch-all’ organization. Generally an organization or nonprofit has rules or guidelines on who they can and can’t serve, and how. For some it’s because they have their specific niche they’re filling, like adult female survivors of sex trafficking. For others it’s because they have federal grant funding which always comes with strict oversight and lots of red tape. While we absolutely understand those limitations, we just don’t have them ourselves. We can serve the survivors that other organizations can’t. We can provide the services that other organizations can’t. It is easy for a survivor to fall through the cracks for services, but Lotus Foundation is kind of the safety net at the bottom. We get a lot of referrals from other organizations who want to assist a survivor but are not able to do so themselves.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My co-founder is Stephanie Wood. She is in the Air Force, so she isn’t around in person, but Lotus Foundation wouldn’t exist without her. She kind of gave me the confidence to start this thing and run with it. I don’t think I ever would have done it on my own, but having someone there with me in the beginning made me feel like I could handle it.
Our Board of Directors is truly amazing, as well. They aren’t like your typical Board where they kind of just exist, they are all completely hands-on. They help with every event we do, networking, community presentations, you name it. Danielle McCarthy calls herself my ’emotional support extrovert,’ because she’s a people person and I just am not. We also have Hector Pesquiera, he is the one who translates all of our information into Spanish. It’s very important that we have accessible assistance for the Spanish speaking community and my high school Spanish classes are too far in the past now to be of any use to me! Chandra Ruotolo and Henriikka Weir are both on our Board and bring invaluable expertise and experience to the table as well.
But my biggest cheerleader has always been my husband, Shawn. He does all of the accounting stuff for us, and he helps with pretty much anything I ask, but his main method of support is just being there for me. We have been married for 17 years and he has been my rock for even longer. He has way more faith in me than I have in myself for sure! (Plus, I couldn’t continue a job with zero pay if he wasn’t taking care of the income for the family) I am aware of how lucky I am to have him!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.LotusFoundationCO.org
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/lotusfoundationco
• Facebook: https://Facebook.com/LotusAdvocates