Sr. Linda Szocik, S.S.J.-T.O.S.F., speaks about the Benedict Center’s Sisters Program, which serves women impacted by trafficking, addiction and homelessness in Milwaukee. (Submitted photo)
On the near North and near South Sides of Milwaukee, the Benedict Center’s Sisters Program ministers to, as its website puts it, “women of the street-based sex trade” — all of whom “should be treated with dignity and respect.”
Jeanne Geraci, executive director of the interfaith, nonprofit Benedict Center, calls the Sisters Program “one of the leading programs of its kind, providing direct services and advocacy” for the women it serves. “The idea,” Geraci said, “is to walk with the women — going to where the women are.” She added that many of the women served by the program have been “really knocked around by life.”
Program advisor Sr. Linda Szocik, a Sister of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis, adds that “many women at the Sisters Program have dealt with violence all their lives, including childhood sexual abuse, repeated sexual assaults as a teen and adult, violent relationships and experiences of being trafficked, as well as current traffickers controlling them. In addition, many of the issues women face are systemic harms — poverty, substance use disorders and homelessness — that require community solutions like more affordable housing, more living-wage jobs and changes to policies that stop women from making progress in their lives.”
In neighborhoods where the need has been found to be especially intense, Sisters Program outreach workers seek out prospective clients on the streets and invite them to patronize one of two Drop-In Centers where food, clothing and showers are available, along with counseling, crisis support, sexual assault advocacy and housing assistance. The case management is holistic and the root causes of client problems are considered. According to Geraci, more than 900 street connections were made by outreach workers last year which resulted in approximately 350 individuals visiting a Drop-In Center. Program personnel respond to telephone requests for help as well. (The program can be reached at 414-795-6716.)
The Sisters Program advocates for adequate housing and trauma counseling, drug treatment and the prevention of violence, including sexual violence — a “harm reduction and housing-first approach,” its website calls it, insisting that “public health systems like housing and treatment tailored to help women in the street-based sex trade are the solutions we need … The revolving cycle of arrests, jail and release is not a long-term solution for anyone.”
The Sisters Program originated on Milwaukee’s North Side in 2010, expanding to include the South Side in 2017. The terms Sisters Program North and Sisters Program South are sometimes used. The latter represents the dream of Sr. Linda.
“Having worked for many years as a nurse practitioner at St. Ben’s Clinic for the homeless and with women on the streets, and aware of addictions and homelessness,” she said, “I had a dream of opening a house of hospitality for women on the South Side. I was aware of the high risk for human trafficking (Milwaukee has been identified as the nation’s third-worst city for human sex trafficking, behind only Detroit and Denver), alcohol and drug abuse, isolation and homelessness in the city and envisioned a place of welcome and hospitality for support, rest and making connections to receive needed services. This would be a safe place to gather for companionship, counseling and health screening.”
A Drop-In Center, open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Thursday, now operates on the first floor of Hope House, 209 W. Orchard St., on the South Side. Its North Side counterpart, open 10 a.m.to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday, is located at 1609 W. North Ave.
“I knew this was something I could not do alone,” Sr. Linda said, “so I invited others to brainstorm with me. I gathered with 12 other dreamers to share our stories and the gifts we could offer. After two years of meetings, the School Sisters of St. Francis, the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi, Ascension Lutheran Church, the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa and my congregation entered into a relationship with the Benedict Center, choosing to create Sisters Program South. A representative from each of our collaborators is a member of our advisory board. This board supports the ongoing operations of the program through advice, counsel, personal knowledge and expertise.”
Sr. Linda chairs the board, whose members now also include women religious from the School Sisters of Notre Dame, the Congregation of St. Agnes, the Sisters of Charity of St. Joan Antida and the Sisters of the Divine Savior. Sisters Program North does not have a board of advisors.
Geraci labeled her own 14-year tenure as the Benedict Center’s executive director “really an amazing journey and an honor.” With regard to working in the Benedict Center’s Sisters Program, she said, “The bottom line is: Suspend our judgment and seek to be of service.
