We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Heather Starr. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Heather below.
Heather, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
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 domestic violence, sexual abuse, rape, and emotional abuse. Violence against women was a topic that I knew 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. 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.
Heather, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
A little background: Lotus Foundation was founded in 2023 with the intent of providing confidential advocacy and case management options for survivors of human trafficking in Colorado.
We envisioned an organization that is willing and able to serve every survivor, in any capacity that they may need. We wanted to see an organization that works collaboratively with community partners rather than against them – an organization that never has to say ‘no’ or turn away a person seeking services, no matter how big or small their needs are.
Lotus Foundation is our dream coming to life.
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. They tell advocates what they need or want, advocates never tell them what to do. 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.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
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.
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
Stephanie and I met when we were both working as human trafficking case managers for another organization. The first time I saw her, I was baffled because she looks like she is about 17. It turns out she’s 25 and has two Bachelor’s Degrees – sociology and criminal justice. Stephanie and I bonded pretty quickly working together, I think because we are complete opposites. She is quiet and sensitive and reserved, whereas I am outspoken and bold and direct. Our personalities complemented each other well right from the start. We had most of the same opinions and same visions, just from different angles. I also kind of felt a very maternal/big sister protectiveness of her. I am quite a bit older than she is, and I have kids, so it just came naturally. As I mentioned, she is sensitive, and when she would end up upset about something, I would find myself and angry and off to her defense. We may make a somewhat odd pair, but it truly works perfectly. We would often spend downtime in my office talking about, “One day, we are going to do XYZ,” and “When we start our own organization, we will do it suchandsuch way,” etc. Until finally that “one day” became “today.” We decided to just take the wild leap and branch out on our own.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.LotusFoundationCO.org
- Instagram: @LotusFoundationCO
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/LotusAdvocates