NEW ORLEANS – On Jan. 30, LCMC Health and Eden Centers for Hope and Healing, formerly Eden House, announced the completion of the Eden Emergency Center, a place for labor and sex trafficking survivors to begin recovery. The new emergency center, housed at an undisclosed location for added security, is available for adult survivors of labor trafficking, sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation.
The U.S. Department of State estimates that more than 27.6 million adults and children are subjected to human trafficking around the world, including in the United States. Eden Centers is dedicated to eradicating the trafficking and selling of human beings through education, advocacy, and recovery services. The local organization aims to provide survivors with a safe place to “dream and overcome their pasts, while developing substantive skills to become self-sufficient, flourishing members of society.”
“Our goal at Eden Centers is to create systemic change through prevention, education, advocacy, recovery and reentry services for victims,” said Kara Van de Carr, the facility’s founder. “This new partnership allows us, for the first time ever, to provide an acute emergency … solution to victims. We are grateful for LCMC Health’s partnership in bringing this to fruition.”
“As a community-based health system focused on providing compassionate healthcare, LCMC Health is proud to partner with Eden Centers on this first-of-its-kind emergency center,” said Ayame Dinkler, the health system’s CAO. “Our collaboration is the first partnership known between an organization like Eden Centers and a hospital that provides multiple services in one site, on an emergency basis. I’m incredibly proud of our work to support this community need.”
