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The Story of Paul &
Lisa
Lisa was just eighteen when she met a man at
a party. At first, he seemed like a pleasant young man, but in reality,
he was a recruiter for the sex industry. He charmed his way into
her life, and by the time she was nineteen, Lisa had fallen victim
to drug abuse and recruitment into prostitution. In 1980, the Founder
of Paul & Lisa Program, Inc. met Lisa in a diner in New Haven,
Connecticut. The Founder tried to help Lisa escape her sexually
exploitive situation but unfortunately Lisa died of a questionable
drug overdose before she escaped. Motivated by this tragedy, The
Paul & Lisa Program was founded to prevent the further exploitation
of women and children.
The Paul & Lisa Program began with financial
support from St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, in Westbrook, Connecticut
and a core group of thirteen volunteers. The Paul & Lisa Program
developed the Street Outreach program in order to increase public
awareness of child sexual exploitation while continuing to aid those
who had already fallen victim to exploitation by helping them to
leave the streets. In 1982, the Paul & Lisa Program established
itself as a non-profit organization.
By 1991, the organization increased its presence
by reaching over 67,000 youth through its Prevention Education Program,
which warned children about the dangers of the streets and commercial
sexual exploitation. The organization was raising awareness through
media, attending conferences, writing newsletters, and applying
for federal grants, while continuing its Street Outreach and Prevention
Education Programs.
By the late 1990’s, the public and law enforcement
officials became concerned over commercial sexual exploitation via
the Internet. The government took a lead role in passing legislation
aimed at protecting our children from on-line dangers.
In 1994, The Paul & Lisa Program, Inc. joined
the Midtown Manhattan Community Court, the first community court
in the country to address the issue of prostitution. Since 2001,
The Paul & Lisa Program contracts with the State of Connecticut
Judicial Branch to administer an alternative to incarceration program
for women arrested on prostitution charges in the Waterbury and
Hartford Community Court System.
In 2006, The Paul & Lisa Program redesigned
its Prevention Education Program to include all the dangers of the
Internet, Sexual Predators, and Street Predators. By December 2006,
more than 1,300 Connecticut youth received valuable information
on Internet & Street Safety. The organization continues to meet
the changing needs of the community to help prevent sexual exploitation.
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