Ministry Spotlight - A Way Out

George Kuykendall, who is Executive Director of Citizens for Community Values (CCV), joined the show to discuss how CCV's "A Way Out" program has helped free more than 300 women from the sex-for-sale industry.

 

You got involved. Tell me why. 

When I grew up, I played with all girls.

 

Then I had three daughters. I've been to more tea parties than most women.

 

So I wanted to protect women.

  

I just thought I needed to do something to pay back all God had given me.

You have something called the Way Out program to help ladies leave the sex industry. How do you do it? 

I don't think most people realize that the ladies in topless bars and prostitution, don't want to be there.

 

One thing that runs through all of these women we've only had 5 or 6 who weren't sexually abused as a child.

 

Out of the 300 women we've had only about 3 of them didn't hear enough to know the Lord. They weren't here long enough.

There needs to be a godly mentor and support system for these ladies. Talk to me about this. 

First of all, the ladies who do this are God's angels here on earth, because it's not an easy job.

 

We have about 20-25 women who do this.

 

Their whole job is just to take care of these women just like they were her mother.

 

We do provide everything they need to get to get back into real life.

Safe living environment. What do you do? 

Well, we house them.

 

That's important, because we need to get the women away from their previous way of life.

 

We do provide all of their housing needs and their electricity. 

One of the things you talk about are Bible studies. What are in these Bible studies? 

They do them every Tuesday night. Dinner then a Bible study.

 

The mentors teach the classes.

 

We do go to a lot of the different religious teachings that come to Memphis. It's a long haul.

Education, job skills training? 

Some of the ladies are in college.

 

We help them get their GED.

 

Most cases the relationship of these women was not very good with their mother.

 

The reason for that was that the boyfriend sexually abused the daughter.

 

Every one (of the women) needs something different.

 

Even if it's a help volunteer position, the women they work with will see that they have changed and give them jobs. 

How big are the addictive issues in their lives? 

I've had a hard time understanding that when I first started.

 

We had a psychiatrist on our board of directors...he said you're not talking to a 30-year-old women, you're talking to a 9-year-old kid.

 

He told me that the people he normally treats are 20% sick and 80% well, but the ladies we're dealing with are exactly the opposite - 80% sick and 20% well.

Do these ladies have kids? 

1.5 children per women is what is amounts to. Some of them we take into the program if they're young.