There is a house in Golden Hill where women are rebuilding their lives and making something else in the process.
The house is run by a group called Shakti Rising, a non-profit that helps women who’ve experienced some sort of trauma in their lives, from depression to substance abuse and sex trafficking victims.
The women go through a two- to three-year program that provides them counseling and job training -- part of which involves wool and string.
Shakti Rising has partnered up with a group called "Wee Win" to make dryer balls. These balls are intended to cut the time it takes people to dry their clothes in half.
"A huge part of what we’re doing is changing the idea that there’s something wrong with these women," said Janice Hsu with Shakti Rising.
"Rather than treating them like throwaway parts of our community, we actually see that they are some of our most untapped, unleveraged resources."
The women are paid to make them and the balls are then sold online and at farmers markets around San Diego.
According to a recent study from the University of San Diego, sex trafficking is San Diego’s second largest underground economy, bringing in around $810 million a year.
"It changes them. It empowers them to know they’re important that they can make something that’s usable, and good for the planet," said Jenni Mcconnell with Wee Win.
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"They talk to each other and the fellowship between each other is what facilitates the bigger picture of healing."
One of the women who lives on that property is Emily Schiffer, a single mom of an infant. Schiffer recovering from drug and alcohol addiction.
"We have this understanding and empathy and compassion for each other. It makes me feel like a part of something," she said.
All of these women are going through something difficult, but Jenni Mcconnell says their mission is simple.
"We are empowering women in need."
Click here for more information on Shakti Rising, or here for more on Wee Win, and the dryer balls.
