Hendersonville – Thistle Farms Founder and President, The Reverend Becca Stevens, was the keynote guest speaker for the 101st Annual Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina this November in Hendersonville. The Convention was held at at St. James Episcopal Church in downtown Hendersonville November 9 – 11th with prelude events at St. John in the Wilderness in Flat Rock. The Rt. Rev.José A. McLoughlin, the 7th Bishop of the Diocese of Western North Carolina, was present; he is bishop of the 28 most western counties of North Carolina with more than 15,000 members contributing to 63 year-round congregations, six summer chapels, two conference centers, a summer camp, Deerfield Retirement Community, and Christ School. He was consecrated as the seventh bishop, and first Hispanic, of the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina on October 1, 2016.
Programs at Thistle Farms
In August, 2022, Thistle Farms ushered in new leadership with Tasha Bandy Kennard as CEO and Scott Ryder as the first Chief Financial Officer. Tasha follows Hal Cato who stepped down after a 6 year period of enormous growth for Thistle Farms. The elevation in financial leadership was set in motion as the organization grew from $8.5 million to $12.6 million over the last 12 months. As CFO, Scott will help steward the organization’s investment in programs, sustainable growth, and overall impact. The last three years have seen unprecedented growth for the organization. Fiscal support has poured in from customers, donors, wholesale accounts, corporate partnerships, and grants. The resulting cash flow has been reinvested into expansions on both the program and social enterprise sides of the organization – creating more opportunities for healing, housing, and employment for women survivors.
Through a number of different programs Thistle Farms, outside of Nashville, Tennessee, helps women survive trafficking, addiction, and prostitution to begin a new life for themselves. The volunteers and staff give them space to heal and thrive, while teaching them new skills. Obviously over the years there have been controversies and legal hurdles to overcome. Thistle Farms started serving the Nashville community in 1997 and has grown considerably over the years. The women who come to Thistle Farms have often been bouncing between an abusive household and the prison system for years by the time they seek help. Sometimes they haven’t had a safe bed for years, and Thistle Farms gives them a place to heal. Thistle Farms currently houses up to 36 residents at a time in a therapeutic setting, as well as a short term safe house. It offers healing and transformation through housing, healthcare, counseling, employment, and community building. It works by implementing a two year program wherein the survivors are housed with other survivors and create a community for healing. An application must be filled out to become a part of the Farm with the understanding that there is a waiting list of over 100 women, and no timeframe estimate for entrance. Eleven residents accomplished a major goal by graduating in the Class of 2023.
In order to enable the survivors to earn a living, Thistle Farms has a facility to produce body and home products for sale. These are handcrafted by women survivors in Nashville. These items—scented candles, lotions, lip balm, creams— are sold at their local store as well as many other retailers such as Whole Foods. Many of the products were bought at the recent Convention in Hendersonville. In fact, Becca and her team brought with them 40 hand-knitted stockings that were carefully crafted by Love Rises, a group of Ukrainian artisans who are refugees. All 40 stockings were purchased within 10 minutes!
In the spring of 2022 a new manufacturing and logistic center in West Nashville more than doubled their space, enlarging the facility to 22,000 square feet. It thus provided manufacturing space for more women survivors to have meaningful employment. Demand for the products—from candles to essential oils— continues to grow. Another place for survivors to find employment is the Cafe at Thistle Farms, at 5122 Charlotte Pike in West Nashville. This is open for breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, and special events. The lovely farmhouse setting has an outdoor deck and free parking,
At Thistle Farms, housing and clinical services are free of charge and provided without Federal assistance. Most of the women they serve first experienced sexual abuse between the ages of 7 and 11 and began using alcohol or drugs by the age of 13. They hit the streets between the ages of 14 and 16. Traumatic childhood experiences gave way to homelessness, addiction, further abuse, and incarceration, often compounded by poverty.
Thistle Farms has reached out far beyond Nashville. They now have global partners to help market the items for many small artisans around the world—such as jewelry, apparel, and household textiles. Through sister organizations beds across the country are offered to help those in crisis.Their website mentions 569 beds for women survivors, as well as 57 open residential programs and 35 programs in development. Thistle Farms has a National Network to locate and find help for survivors of abuse. Someone can go to www.network.thistlefarms.org to look through the National Directory by state and find help. Thistle Farms in a nonprofit social enterprise dedicated to help women survivors recover and heal from prostitution, trafficking, and addiction. Their philosophy is “Love Heals.” It is the most powerful force in the world for change. “Together, we heal by ensuring access to safe housing, financial independence, and a lifelong community of support.”