Thistle Farms is a nonprofit social enterprise, based in Nashville, TN, dedicated to helping women survivors recover and heal from trafficking, prostitution, and addiction. We provide a safe place to live, a meaningful job, and a lifelong sisterhood of support.
Our products are made both in Nashville, TN by residents and graduates of our two-year program, as well as by women survivor artisans around the world. Into every product goes the believe that love is the most powerful force in the world - because love has the power to heal.
Founder Story Becca Stevens is an author, speaker, priest, social entrepreneur, founder and president of Thistle Farms. After experiencing the death of her father and subsequent child abuse when she was 5, Becca longed to open a sanctuary for survivors offering a loving community. In 1997, five women who had experienced trafficking, violence, and addiction were welcomed home.
Twenty years later, the organization continues to welcome women with free residence that provide housing, medical care, therapy and education for two years. Residents and graduates earn income through one of three social enterprises. The Global Market of Thistle Farms helps employ more than 1,400 women worldwide, and the national network has more than 60 sister communities.
Becca has been featured in the New York Times, on ABC World News and NPR, was named a 2016 CNN Hero and a White House “Champion of Change." She was featured in the PBS documentary, A Path Appears, named Humanitarian of the Year by the Small Business Council of America and inducted into the Tennessee Women’s Hall of Fame. Stevens attended the University of the South and Vanderbilt Divinity School. She has been conferred 3 honorary doctorates.
