OUR MISSION AND VALUES

We are committed to reaching and restoring lives impacted by sex trafficking and sexual exploitation.

HOPE

We aim to offer hope in the midst of injustice and difficult circumstances. We believe it is through the perfect love of Christ and His promises for our future that we can persevere in hope. Through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, women can experience freedom, wholeness, and new life.

EMPOWERMENT

We desire to equip women with the tools needed for independence, sustainability, and greater opportunity. We aim to provide awareness, education, and prevention to end the injustice of sex trafficking and sexual exploitation.

OWNERSHIP

We define ownership as the ability to operate with integrity and humility, taking responsibility for a situation and moving towards resolution.

COLLABORATION

Greater justice and rehabilitation are accomplished when organizations and systems are working together. Created Gainesville does not aim to be the sole provider for care and resources because we believe we are all stronger together than apart.

COMMUNITY

We believe a thriving community is achieved through cultivating an environment of open communication, mutual respect, and maintaining an attitude of excellence. Community operates best in unity, while celebrating diversity and our unique God-given talents, abilities, and skills. We desire to develop safe places that will foster healing, growth, and development, in the context of community with others.

LEGACY

We aim to break the cycles of poverty and exploitation to create a legacy that impacts future generations. Through consistency and building relationships, we strive to foster sustainability that ultimately transforms lives and our community.

CREATED GAINESVILLE'S SURVIVOR VIDEO

OUR HISTORY

A
HEART
TO
REACH 
AND
RESTORE

2007
The first branch of Created was founded in Tampa, Florida. A team from the Tampa area was working alongside members of Samaritana, an organization committed to reaching individuals exploited by the sex trade in the Phillipines. The nine month experience abroad in Manila inspired this Tampa-based team to establish a local organization committed to reaching women experiencing exploitation in the sex industry. Created Tampa began various community outreaches with the realization that there was no organization at that time dedicated to reaching women involved in the sex industry. 

2012
Created Gainesville was formed.  At that time there was not a place for women caught in sex trafficking and sexual exploitation in the area, so we committed ourselves to befriending women, inviting them into trusting relationships, and empowering them to leave the sex industry. We began with outreach, going to the places where women were most vulnerable and learning what they would need to get out. 

2015
Our Created Care program was launched. We have been offering support and services to women ever since. We continue to develop additional opportunities and partnerships in our community to provide women with the best resources and support they need to start a new chapter in their lives.

2017
We were certified as an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Since we were independently established, we've served over 900 women through outreach and restorative care programs. We've also made 105 awareness presentations in the greater Gainesville area, and hosted 10 prevention classes in local school and youth programs.

MEET OUR TEAM

​ALISON UNGARO
FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
alison@createdgainesville.com

​LAURA SNOOK
PROGRAMS DIRECTOR
​laura@createdgainesville.com

​FAYE MERILIEN
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
​faye@createdgainesville.com

​BRIGIT SHEDD
ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR
​brigit@createdgainesville.com

​ZACH GUTIERREZ
DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
zach@createdgainesville.com

MEET OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

CHIPPER FLANIKEN
Board Chair

GRACE WHITE
Board Member

CARTER BRIGHT
​Board Member

JOB WHITE, CPA
Treasurer

DEBORAH MINCK
Board Member

DR. KATHY SARANTOS
​Board Member

BRANDON WEST
Board Member

      

WHY 
ARE
WE
HERE?

THE FACTS

• Florida is 3rd highest for reported sex trafficking cases (Polaris Project, 2019)
• 300,000 children are lured into the commercial sex trade every year in the united states (Ark of Hope for Children, 2019)
• 80% of women in the sex industry are under the control of a pimp or trafficker- this includes every facet of the sex industry, including prostitution, pornography, strip clubs, escort services, and so forth (Raymond & Hughes, 2001)
• 75% of women in prostitution have been homeless at some point (Farley et al., 2004)
• 90% of women in the sex industry report childhood sexual abuse and/or incest (Farley et al., 2004)
• 50% of prostitutes began working in the sex industry as minors, which makes them victims of sex trafficking (Wells, Mitchell, & Ji, 2012)
• 68% of individuals with a history of sex trafficking met the criteria for a PTSD diagnosis, which is equivalent to that of treatment-seeking combat veterans (Farley et al., 2004)

Learn more about the problem of sex trafficking here.

STORIES OF HOPE

​Check out testimonies from some of the women we've worked with on how their lives have been restored here.

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