Survivors LEAD 2024

Program Plan

The Survivors LEAD program educates and empowers survivors to become leaders. Integrating lessons from the Pathways to Freedom Capacity Building Initiative (CBI) and Survivor LEAD 2021, Survivors LEAD 2024 combines experiential education, socioemotional learning, leadership development, and upskilling for employment.

This is part of our efforts to empower survivors by developing leadership skills. These skills can be useful not only for leading a community but also by leading the journey of healing and recovery towards meaningful inclusion.

The curriculum incorporates self-directed learning, face-to-face workshops, educational field trips, an placement/internship in an organization in the anti-trafficking movement, and a Capstone project to allow participants to integrate learning. We seek to boost and enhance leadership skills among new and current leaders. With these skills, survivor leaders can work steadily to develop sustainable communities and achieve a stable well being, meaningful inclusion and economic empowerment. 


Objectives:

  1. Prepare emerging survivor leaders to deepen engagement in the anti-slavery sector. 

  2. Introduce key knowledge and skills for 2 streams of anti-slavery:

    • Community Building/Peer mentoring and

    • Trauma-Informed Direct Services.

  3. Provide survivor leaders with work experience through an internship placement. 

  4. Provide anti-slavery organizations with support for hosting a survivor leader intern, with the aim of deepening their commitment to survivor inclusion.


Benefits to participation 

  • Provide opportunities for meaningful inclusion of survivors and people with lived experience

  • Clarify what role you want to play in anti-trafficking work, even if the answer is nothing!

  • Enhance leadership skills that you can take to any workplace 

  • Build a community and network with other survivor leaders 

  • Gain work experience with an organization or program

 

Participant Commitments

  • Focus 6-8 hours per week of your time on the program. This includes attending meetings, reading and watching videos on your own, responding to emails and doing “homework”. 

  • Abide by Survivor Alliance’s Membership Manifesto 

  • Meet weekly with a participant coach who is also a survivor leader 

  • Reflect on your own skills and interests and be willing to receive feedback

  • Ask for help with the program content if you are not understanding it

  • Communicate about potential absences and changes in your ability to commit