Survivor Focus Group
“When you are anchored in healing and growth, there’s no coming back.”
Why AncoraTN: Survivor Focus Group
Names are tied to our identities. Often, they make our first impression and represent who we are to the world. Changing our name was a significant process—a journey of reflection and rediscovery. Throughout it all, survivors and their experience were our priority.
Because empowering human trafficking survivors is the core of everything we do, we turned to them for leadership and feedback on our name moving forward.
When survivors saw AncoraTN, they immediately felt a deep resonance. This name made them feel seen and understood—ringing truer to the struggles they face every day.
This new name felt hopeful; it didn’t define them by the things that had happened to them.
They knew what it meant to be caught up in the crashing waves of grief and trauma; this agency had been their anchor, holding them steady in moments of crisis and chaos.
They noted its uniqueness and anonymity; shielding them from exposure. The name AncoraTN doesn’t automatically tell the world their situation or how they were victimized.
It reminded them of the loyalty they felt for each other with its symbol of strength, protection, and support.
As Jemma stated, “when you’re anchored in healing and growth, there’s no coming back.”
AncoraTN provides a foundation for survivors as they pursue a future filled with love, purpose, and opportunity.
Just as the anchor travels alongside a ship, we also walk alongside survivors, relying on their guidance throughout the healing journey and providing respite whenever it’s needed. AncoraTN will passionately encourage their dreams, while relentlessly pursuing our dream—which always has been and continues to be—the eradication of human trafficking in Tennessee.
