Lancaster County Nonprofit Merges with Berks County Organization to Combat Human TraffickingLancaster County Nonprofit Merges with Berks County Organization to Combat Human Trafficking North Star Initiative, a Lancaster County faith-based nonprofit dedicated to combating human trafficking, has acquired a Berks County nonprofit with the same mission: FREE (Freedom & Restoration for Everyone Enslaved). Both organizations shared a deep commitment to ending human trafficking and had collaborated in various ways over the years. By merging, they aim to streamline administrative overhead and reduce duplication of services, directing more resources towards their programming. “By participating in our programs, we ensure that survivors receive excellent care, which is ultimately our top priority,” stated Melinda Clark, Executive Director of North Star. Following an agreement approved by their respective boards, FREE dissolved on June 30, with North Star assuming its operations. This includes the Refuge Home, a safe house and care center in Reading that opened in September 2022. North Star also operates The Harbor, a similar facility that has been operational since 2017. Both sites provide counseling, life skills training, and other support services to help victims of human trafficking heal and reintegrate into the community. Andrea McHenry, the former director of FREE, has joined North Star as Director of Outreach and Advocacy. She described the merger as “the next right step” in their mission. North Star Initiative and FREE were both established in 2010, and their merger represents a significant step forward in their shared goal to end human trafficking.
A Lancaster County faith-based nonprofit that fights human trafficking has acquired a Berks County nonprofit with the same mission, the two organizations announced.
Melinda Clark
North Star Initiative, headquartered in Lititz, and FREE (Freedom & Restoration for Everyone Enslaved), based in Reading, said they “share the same deep commitment to ending human trafficking” and have worked together in a number of ways over the years.
By merging into one nonprofit, they said, they can streamline administrative overhead and reduce duplication of services, allowing more resources to go directly to programming.
“By participating in our programs, we ensure that survivors receive excellent care, which is ultimately our top priority,” North Star Executive Director Melinda Clark said in a statement.
Under an agreement approved by the boards of both nonprofits, FREE was dissolved effective June 30 and North Star Institute took over its operations.
Andrea McHenry
This also applies to the Refuge Home, FREE’s safe house and care centre in Reading, which opened in September last year and can accommodate up to four residents.
North Star Initiative operates a similar facility, The Harbor, which opened in 2017 and can accommodate up to seven people.
North Star now operates both sites, under Clinical Program Director Celeste Hudson. Both sites offer counseling, life skills training and other wraparound services to help victims of human trafficking heal and transition back into the community.
Andrea McHenry, former director of FREE, is now director of outreach and advocacy at North Star.
“I couldn’t be more excited,” McHenry said in a statement, describing FREE’s merger with North Star as “the next right step” in its mission.
North Star Initiative and FREE were both founded in 2010.
