Safe Exit Initiative opens Baltimore drop-in center for individuals impacted by the sex trade
Photo I Courtesy of Safe Exit Initiative
Bunks at Harbor Baltimore's drop-in center
Almost exactly five months after establishing a harm reduction and outreach program in Baltimore, the Worcester-based nonprofit Safe Exit Initiative has increased its services, launching a drop-in center for those involved in the sex trade.
Opened on July 17, SEI’s new center is similar to the nonprofit's flagship community resource center and day shelter, named Harbor, in Worcester.
Receiving 20 to 30 visitors a day, Harbor Baltimore’s center offers those with lived and living experience in the sex trade products and services, including food, clothing, rest, harm reduction materials, case management, and support groups, according to a Tuesday press release from SEI.
The center serves 240 meals weekly and additionally offers preventative programming for at-risk youth.
“Programming for people with lived experience in the sex trade must be specialized, because their realities, needs, and safety concerns are not always reflected in traditional sexual assault or domestic violence services. While there may be overlap, umbrellaing these experiences under sexual assault and domestic violence can leave critical gaps in care. Tailored support ensures their voices, healing, and unique challenges are truly recognized,” Marcia Spencer, care coordinator at Harbor Baltimore, said in the release.
SEI originally launched Harbor Baltimore on Feb. 14 as an expansion of its original Harbor program in Worcester, offering direct street outreach, harm reduction supplies, and personal hygiene products three times. The program has since increased to operating five days a week due to demand.
The nonprofit selected Baltimore as its first sister location due to its high rates of human trafficking, with the National Human Trafficking Hotline reporting that since 2007, it has received 6,000 calls and reports from Maryland, identifying 1,533 human trafficking cases involving about 3,000 victims.
“Baltimore has one of the highest levels of need we’ve seen, and the community response to our services has been immediate,” Courtney Ross Escobar, SEI’s co-executive director and COO, said in the release. “In just weeks, the Drop-In Center is serving hundreds of meals and connecting dozens of people each day to safety and support. This is a clear signal that Baltimore deserves—and urgently needs—more survivor-centered resources.”
Founded in 2014 as Living In Freedom Together, SEI works to provide services to those with lived and living experience in the sex trade and support safe exits from exploitation. The nonprofit launched its Harbor center in 2020, subsequently closing its overnight component in 2023 in tandem with a rebranding and an executive leadership transition. SEI re-opened Harbor as a day shelter in the summer of 2024.
"Women with lived experience are too often burdened by stigma—labeled for their addiction, mental health challenges, and complex trauma. They internalize shame for circumstances not of their making and are too frequently met with judgment instead of compassion, even within the very systems designed to help them heal,” Barbara Schreiber, Harbor Baltimore’s outreach supervisor, said in the release.
In fiscal year 2023, SEI generated $4.11 million in revenue and had $3.74 million in assets, according to nonprofit financial tracker GuideStar.
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.
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