How a former teacher created a help-house for women escaping sex trafficking

Anne Haines, a mother of six adult children and a former Catholic school teacher, is moving to a new home next month. She'll be getting at least six new roommates, all either survivors of sex trafficking or other women trying to help them. This doesn't bother her though, it's a chance to live out a decades-old dream. Haines is moving into the newly-established St. Bakhita Catholic Worker House on North 2nd St. in Milwaukee's Harambee neighborhood.

She will serve as executive director of the unassuming, century-old brick house, formerly a Franciscan friary. The house is named for the patron saint of enslaved people and human trafficking survivors, and will tap into the Catholic Worker Movement, which has been focused on social justice issues since the Great Depression.

The house will soon provide a safe space for at least six women escaping sex trafficking and exploitation. A group of all-female Catholic Workers will live there and assist Haines in keeping the house and helping the residents find services. A 2018 report by the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission found that 340 people ages 25 and younger, 97% of whom were girls or women, were confirmed or believed to have been victims of sex trafficking in the city from 2013 to 2016. The St. Bakhita House will provide educational and therapeutic activities for the residents, including discussions on faith and justice, healing retreats and mindful yoga, Haines said. The remodeled three-story home, made possible through donations from parishes and individuals, as well as renovation and touch-up work by volunteers, is set to welcome its new residents in September.