(pronounced "eh-MAY-uhs")
Emmaus is a Christian non-profit working to prevent exploitation and empower male survivors of the sex trade to rebuild their lives. The love of Jesus inspires us - we seek to affirm worth, reject stigma, and offer the hope of the Gospel to male survivors.
vision
A world where every male survivor is seen, supported, and free with no one left to walk this road alone.
Mission
We walk with male survivors of sexual exploitation, creating pathways toward safety, dignity, and lasting freedom by offering trauma-informed, faith-rooted care and advancing bold education that challenges stigma.
Values
MALE SURVIVORS DESERVE TO BE SEEN. – Thirty-six percent of those trafficked are boys and men, yet fewer than two percent of U.S. organizations serve them. We advocate on behalf of their stories, challenging stigma and making their reality impossible to ignore.
MEETING PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE. – Many men struggle to seek help because support is scarce and stigma runs deep. At Emmaus, we build trust by going first, reaching people through street outreach, community partners, and digital spaces to meet them where they are.
HEALING THROUGH AGENCY AND CHOICE. – We believe healing begins with agency. At Emmaus, trauma-informed care creates safe, reliable spaces where each person can set their own pace, identify their needs, and receive the support they need to build pathways toward stability and freedom.
FREEDOM BEYOND ONE STORY. – Freedom creates possibility. When survivors heal, their courage strengthens families, communities, and movements for change, carrying hope further than any single story.
Statement of Faith
Emmaus is a Christian non-profit whose mission is to serve and empower ALL male-identifying victims and survivors regardless of their faith journey. Read our full statement of faith here.
Our Story
John Green traces the seed of what would become Emmaus to a moment on a street corner in Chicago in 1985. While a freshman at Wheaton College, John was volunteering for a ministry that worked with women involved in street prostitution. To thank John for volunteering, the ministry’s director took him out for lunch. Giving him a tour of the neighborhood, she pointed out the streets and corners where women sold sex and drug dealers sold their wares.
Then she pointed to a cluster of men on a street corner and said the words that gave birth to Emmaus:
“Those guys over there are being [trafficked and exploitated], too. But nobody works with them; nobody cares….”
She continued with the tour. Those words were a by-the-way detail to her, but they profoundly impacted John.
Nobody works with them. Nobody cares. It was a moment he would never forget.
John dropped out of college a year and a half later to work with runaway and homeless youth at Covenant House in New York City. Many of the girls and boys he worked with sold their bodies to survive. He remembered those words: Nobody works with them. Nobody cares.
John felt the Holy Spirit calling him to show the members of this marginalized community that they are loved—by God and by God’s people. He returned to Wheaton College to complete his degree and began envisioning how to provide care and support for the people no one else would help. John started doing street outreach in Chicago. Over time, he was joined by several other students and two professors. After a trying season of going to school full-time, working nights at a local hospital, and doing street outreach three nights a week, John went on a five-day silent retreat. At a Trappist monastery in New York, God spoke to John, saying that he should develop a ministry to men involved in trafficking, survival sex, and exploitation.
John felt the Holy Spirit Calling to him to show The members of this Marginalized community That they are loved.
They put their work under the guidance of the MidAmerica Leadership Foundation (now called Goodcity). Emmaus was officially born in November of 1990 as an outreach and support network for men involved in Sex Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation in Chicago.
After a two-year incubation with MidAmerica, Emmaus gained IRS 501(c)(3) status and officially became independent. During this period, Emmaus had developed a board of directors, hired a full-time director, and developed an extensive volunteer outreach effort. In 2021, Emmaus opened the doors of the Survivor Support Center in Chicago’s Fulton Market neighborhood.
Staff
JOEL MITCHELL
Executive Director
Rev. Joel Mitchell brings over 25 years of leadership experience in social services and city government. He is an ordained and licensed minister who is passionate about seeing lives changed and people finding the healing they deserve.
CARLA SMEDBRON, MA
Director of Programs
Carla Almeida is an experienced Psychologist with a demonstrated history of working in international affairs, human rights, and Humanitarian Assistance.
JAMES TIDABACK
Director of Development
Jim Tidaback is committed to Christ, service, and hard work. He brings extensive nonprofit fundraising experience, having worked with organizations including United Cerebral Palsy, the Catholic Diocese of Joliet, and United Way.