My Life My Choice Project Innovator Profile

8/9/2019 My Life My Choice Project Innovator Profile

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Innovator Profile

My Life My Choice Project

A unique continuum of services to prevent the commercialsexual exploitation of girls.


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How did the My Life MyChoice project begin?


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In 2001, a young woman named LatashaCannon was murdered. She had been livingin a Department of Children and Familiesfunded group home and none of thesupportive adults in her life knew that shewas controlled by a pimp and exploitedthrough prostitution. The My Life MyChoice project was formed to prevent otheryoung women from experiencing sexualexploitation.


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The program began at the Home for Little Wandererswhere Lisa Goldblatt Grace was hired on as a

consultant for three weeks to study the issue anddetermine what could/should be done. Lisa worked in

collaboration with Denise Williams, a survivor of theLife. They learned that what she and others knew was

only the tip of the iceberg and that there was asignificant need for program to address the

victimization of these young people . Lisa now runs theprogram with Audrey Porter, a survivor of commercial

sexual exploitation.


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The My Life, My Choice project has sincemoved to the Justice Resource Institute,one of the original stakeholder groups

invested in preventing the exploitation of

young people. JRI serves as the projectsfiscal conduit.


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What does the My Life My Choiceproject do?


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The My Life, My Choice project works to

prevent girls from being sexually exploitedby providing prevention, victimidentification, and intervention services.They have reached over 750 girls directly

and have trained over 3000 serviceproviders both inside and outside ofMassachusetts.


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What a es t he r f t heife, ho ice ro jecti ovative?


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T he ife hoice ro ject has evelop ea 10 ee c rric l f oc se on the prevention of the comm ercial se al e ploitati on of oung girls. T here is no other curriculum li e this in the coun tr . reate a nd since revised t ice

ith the inpu t of survivors, t he curriculum demy stifies t he glamou r of the life: includ ing recr uitment tactics of pimp s, manipu lation of

young peop le, and the hars h pun ishm entssuffered y young om en li e atas ha annon .


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T he goal is t o shift the attit ud es,now ledg e, and s ills of young girls at ris f or comm ercial

se ual e ploitati on . Young girls,ages 12-15 with tra um a historiesare c onsidered som e of the mo st

vu lnera le.


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T he y ife y ho ice also edu cates ser vice prov idersinclud ing group hom e wo r ers, med ical prov iders, la w enforcement personn el, and staff at t he epart ment of

hild ren and am ilies a ou t how to identify victimsand wh at ser vices are a vaila le. T he curricu lum haseen recogn ized y the U epart ment of Justice a nd is

used in many states ar ound the nation .


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Young wom en in the life areconn ected with adu lt wom en who are s urvivors through a

mentoring program. T he goal is

to provide these girls s uppo rts t o escape from prostit ution and theperpetrat or.


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Contact Information:

My Life My Choice : Lisa Goldblatt-Grace,[email protected]

My Life My Choice Project Innovator Profile

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