Our History

SOAP stands for “Save Our Adolescents from Prostitution” and is a volunteer driven organization founded by advocate, author, and survivor, Theresa Flores.

On her worst night after being auctioned off to nearly two dozen men in a dingy, dirty, inner city Detroit motel, Theresa recalled the only item that could have discreetly linked her to help - a bar of soap. With that realization in mind, The SOAP Project was founded to help reach out to other victims.

The Problem

Human trafficking is the second leading crime in the world - including in the United States. There are over 1.3 million missing and runaway children in the U.S. and if a child is not recovered within the first 48 hours, the likelihood is high that they will be trafficked. The average age of entry into human trafficking is 12-14 years old. This is often called “prostitution,” however, if a person under the age of 18 years old is involved in commercial sex, they are being trafficked. If the person is over the age of 18 years old and has a pimp, they are being trafficked. The majority of trafficking occurs in hotels and motels. Although there is always demand for sex, sporting events and large events that draw a great deal of people - particularly men - increase the demand for sex-for-sale. Victims have a 30% higher chance of death by murder, overdose, or suicide than the average person. Of all adults involved in prostitution, 77% report being trafficked as a child.

Mission

The SOAP Project is specifically focused on educating the public to increase awareness of the prevalence of human trafficking in communities across the United States and prevent teens from being victimized by domestic sex trafficking. The SOAP Project also works directly with trafficked survivors to provide restorative services.

The SOAP Project travels all over the United States to hold outreaches during large events. We partner with local organizations to distribute millions of bars of soap, hand-labeled with a red band giving the National Human Trafficking Hotline number -1(888)373-7888-. Trained volunteers help us offer the soap free-of-charge to motels along with training to be able to identify and report human trafficking when they see it in their establishments. SOAP Outreaches are scheduled around high-demand events like the Super Bowl, NCAA Final Four, Indy 500, and many more.