Reaching out to the prostitutes of Nashville

NPR profiles Magdalene House, a private residential rehab center for women who've been arrested for prostitution and drug addiction.

Nashville arrested more than 1,100 people for prostitution and solicitation last year. Maybe someday Messina will decide she wants to go straight and clean up. And if she does, there's a program in Nashville that can help. It's called Magdalene.

It was founded in 1997 by Becca Stevens, an Episcopal priest who grew up in Nashville and who had been abused as a child. Magdalene is a two-year private residential rehab center for women with criminal histories of prostitution and drug addiction.

Over the years, Magdalene has graduated more than 150 women and has raised about $12 million in private funds.

Magdalene offers an intensified program of housing, counseling and training, based on a 12-step model. Women stay free for the two years they're there. It is becoming a national model for others trying to help women trapped by prostitution.

Magdalene also helps run "john schools...."

...aimed at educating male clients who are arrested for hiring prostitutes about various aspects of prostitution. Only first-time offenders may enroll.

"A john could be anyone," says Kenneth Baker, a counselor who volunteers to run the john school. "You know one of them." Each john pays about $300, and then gets his record expunged if it's a first-time offense. All proceeds go to Magdalene, and last year the program contributed $100,000.

Magdalene sends former prostitutes to talk to the program to confront the men who paid for sex.

Posted by Andrew Gerns on August 17, 2012 8:52 AM | |
Comments (4)

That's wonderful; I hope the idea spreads. (I was going to say that I hoped it would branch out to include hustlers, but that's probably already covered by Covenant House's work with homeless youth.)

Posted by Bill Dilworth [TypeKey Profile Page] | August 17, 2012 10:26 AM

The Rev. Stevens and two of her program's graduates were part of our "Making Disciples" Conference in the Diocese of Missouri last year. Their presentations were so powerful that they were the tipping points for our diocese to start our own program.

I would recommend to anyone that they look into what they are doing in Nashville and see what is possible. In order to make the loaves and fishes to feed a multitude, we just need to pray for grace and then give it away.

Kevin McGrane

Posted by Maplewood [TypeKey Profile Page] | August 17, 2012 10:36 AM

Magdalene House, a private residential rehab center for women who've been arrested for prostitution and drug addiction.

...which is great. But immediately begs the question of young men who have the same history.

From the story, re a john:

a father of a 3-year-old. "I never once thought that they [prostitutes] weren't people," the father tells NPR. "It was just a supply-and-a-demand thing. I was demanding something, and they were the supplier. It's up to them to change it."

Chilling. What is he teaching his 3 year-old (should he be allowed to continue that custody)?!

JC Fisher

Posted by tgflux [TypeKey Profile Page] | August 17, 2012 5:20 PM

So it is with all supply-side economics.

Posted by Dcn Scott Elliott [TypeKey Profile Page] | August 18, 2012 1:50 PM

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