Project iRISE was founded by Rhonelle Bruder in 2020 with a mission to educate and empower survivors of human trafficking and those at-risk. Understanding the many challenges survivors of trafficking face when trying to rebuild their lives, Rhonelle wanted to focus on a much-needed area; creating opportunities for survivors to develop employable skills and build community.

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Tapping into the community for support, Project iRISE was launched, as a 100% volunteer-run organization. With that support, we successfully ran a GoFundMe campaign to raise the funds to remove branding tattoos from survivors of human trafficking. In late 2020, our Survivor Leadership program was a successful recipient of the Ministry of Children, Community, and Social Services in support of Ontario’s comprehensive Anti-Human Trafficking Strategy 2020 - 2025. 

 

Our Survivor Leadership program is the first of its kind; a program designed for survivors by survivors with support from community partners. The leadership program will commence in September 2021 and welcome survivors to join a year-long training that combines coaching, group learning experiences, and peer mentorship. We are committed to continuing our work to creating educational and empowerment opportunities for survivors of human trafficking.