At the heart of Crowned Free is our Teen Survivors and At Risk Youth Employment Program.

In 2015 it began as The Pillow Project, a program created to give teen survivors of sex trafficking and youth who had experienced severe abuse the opportunity to learn real job skills through meaningful work and to experience the confidence that comes from creating something with their own hands. It began with the teens learning to make pillows for Crowned Free.

Over time the program grew, skills expanded, and the work evolved into many of the Crowned Free pieces you see today. More than a decade later, over four hundred teens in our community have been impacted through this program. For many of them, this is the first place they have experienced stability, encouragement, and the deep sense of accomplishment that comes from learning a skill, finishing their work, and seeing that what they create matters. The stories we have heard from teens in this program show that this kind of confidence can begin to shape other parts of their lives too – from school to therapy to the way they work alongside and encourage one another.

Today we call it The Story Project because what is happening there is bigger than one product. It is about growth, healing, restoration, and helping these teens know that they matter because their stories deserve to be heard.

Many of them initial their work, which you will see on several Crowned Free products. Those small letters represent hours of learning, perseverance, and confidence.

Each piece carries their story with it.

They want people to know their story and to see the work they are creating. That means the world to them.