Kherut
PROGRAMS
WORKFORCE JOB TRAINING PROGRAM
Women who have escaped exploitation often face significant barriers to stability. Many lack financial resources, consistent work history, professional references, and the workplace skills necessary to secure lasting employment. Without stable income, even the most determined survivor struggles to obtain housing, regain custody of her children, or build a secure future. Employment is the foundation for independence. Kherut was founded on the belief that lasting transformation begins with job skills, earned income, and long-term supportive employment within a safe and structured environment. It is not a temporary training program, but a workforce development model that provides paid training followed by sustained employment and opportunities for advancement. Through partnerships with trusted organizations across Orange County, women enter Kherut’s 420-hour paid training program, gaining hands-on experience in culinary arts, catering, customer service, bookkeeping, and business operations. Alongside technical skills, participants strengthen essential workplace foundations such as reliability, communication, accountability, and professionalism — rebuilding confidence often diminished by years of instability and trauma. Upon completion, women transition into ongoing employment within Kherut’s food service enterprises, with wage growth aligned to skill development and responsibility. When a woman earns her first steady paycheck after years of uncertainty, stability begins to replace survival. Confidence returns. A future once defined by hardship begins to take shape with strength and possibility. Kherut exists to ensure survivors have more than safety — they have the opportunity to build sustainable, independent lives grounded in meaningful work.
Through its Workforce Training Program, Kherut is committed to measurable progress that leads to lasting independence for women rebuilding their lives after significant trauma.
From the first day, women enter into paid training and begin earning income in a safe, structured environment. They gain hands-on culinary and business skills while strengthening foundational workplace habits such as reliability, communication, professionalism, and accountability. For many, this is the first time stability begins to replace crisis.
As skills strengthen and confidence grows, participants complete the 420-hour paid training program and transition into sustained employment — either within Kherut’s social enterprise or with outside employers. Wage growth reflects increased responsibility and skill development. Steady income supports housing stability, reduces reliance on emergency systems, and builds long-term workforce attachment.
Over time, women move toward sustained economic independence. Some advance into leadership roles within Kherut, mentoring others who are just beginning. Others pursue expanded career opportunities beyond the organization, carrying verified work history, professional references, and renewed confidence. Kherut tracks retention, wage progression, housing stability, and employment transitions to ensure the model remains strong, responsive, and replicable.
At its core, this work is about restoring dignity through earned income and creating a clear pathway from survival to stability — and from stability to lasting independence.
WORKFIRCE TRAINING PROGRAM
Often, women who have escaped from exploitation lack the financial resources, soft skills, and traditional work experiences needed for stability. Without the prospect of gainful employment, and the margin to make mistakes, survivors are left with few viable options to themselves and their families housed and safe. Before a woman can even hope to secure a permanent home, regain custody of her children, or purchase a reliable car, she needs a stable job. Every other step is dependent on her ability to work.Kherut was founded on the conviction that the key to permanent change for survivors of human trafficking and other significant trauma is training and long-term, supportive employment opportunities in a safe and understanding workplace environment. BUT, Kherut is not just a temporary training program preparing to send these women out to find another job. Instead, we are a holistic and comprehensive support system with many different long-term career opportunities. Kherut is not just a job – we are a partner on the path to a life-changing, sustainable career. Kherut’s innovative solution begins by working with partnering organizations such as Grandma’s House of Hope, Teen Project/Vera’s Sanctuary, Access CA, Waymakers, Salvation Army and Casa Teresa, Kherut serves women in Orange County by engaging survivors from life challenging circumstances in a 420-hour, paid training program to learn skills in food service, cooking, catering, event planning, menu design, social media, customer service, bookkeeping, inventory control, marketing, sales, and problem-solving related to the business. Long-term employees have opportunities to advance within the organization or leave with the skills, experience, and references they need to be successful and independent outside of it. It is Kherut’s goal that employees will want to grow with the organization and promote to higher level positions; however, should they decide not to pursue a career with Kherut, the hard and soft skills they gain with us crossover into many different industries, giving survivors the experience and references they need to build their resumes. The training program is based on a 30-hour work week, with a goal of completing this phase in 12 weeks. However, because we believe each woman deserves a fresh start without judgement, our training program is tailored to each participant’s proficiency, based upon their learning skills, availability, and enthusiasm to learn. Often, the women we serve have such a deficit of soft skills that we must begin with the most basic skills, such as showing up as scheduled, or the appropriate time to take breaks. With support and compassion, we can create a safe place to work through this process and gain the most basic skills required for employment.
The long-term success of program participants will be measured by their ability to live an independent life with purpose, confidence, self-worth, through permanent supportive employment with Kherut and strengthened employment skills should they want to pursue employment elsewhere. This level of support will allow them to sustain their own housing, transportation, and childcare. Since those metrics are nearly impossible to track over decades and even generations, our evaluations are based on shorter-term successes. However, we are diligent in our attempts to maintain contact with willing program participants in order to glean their insights, take their input into consideration, and use their experiences to inform programmatic adjustments.
Our personalized approach to permanent supportive employment is key to the success of not only the survivors we serve but extending to their families. The more women we train and promote through higher wages and responsibility, the more support we can provide women who are navigating the challenges of reintegrating into long-term employment coming out of extreme life challenges.
CONTACT
Kherut
1112 N Brookhurst Street
Unit 6
Anaheim, California 92801
Yves Masquéfa
Phone: 714-612-5174