SOCIAL SERVICES
CAST’s social services goal is to help clients recover from years of abuse and trauma so they may become self-sufficient, thriving members of our community. These services include access to food, shelter, and job training, as well as intensive case management (information, assistance, and legal education); mental health services (counseling, art therapy, peer support); education and life skills training (English as a Second Language, computer literacy, and financial management classes); and alternative non-Western healing therapies that are culturally appropriate. CAST’s social services program is a model throughout the country for its success in assisting clients in their journey from victims to survivors. At least once a year, CAST hosts a Client Graduation celebrating its clients’ victory over trauma. With this renewed sense of hope and tangible skills to take into the world, graduated clients are working in meaningful jobs free of exploitation, and are giving back to the communities in which they live.

SHELTER
The first shelter in the United States designed specifically to meet the needs of trafficking survivors, the CAST shelter not only provides physically and psychologically safe housing, but also services that other shelter programs are not always able to provide. CAST shelter residents have access to a multi-cultural, multi-lingual staff with extensive expertise in working with survivors of trafficking and other forms of trauma. A big part of the shelter program is the Healing Garden where residents are able to grow the fruits and vegetables they miss from their home countries and find refuge and relaxation in a meditative setting. The shelter is also a drop-in center for all CAST clients who can enjoy the peer support, mentoring, and skill development programs conducted in the house. Every month CAST shelter holds a client potluck, a favorite among clients, to share food and stories from their respective countries while celebrating the diversity and support found at the shelter.