Safe Exit Initiative is set to be featured in a new documentary the Worcester organization hopes will generate more funding as it expands into more states.
Safe Exit Initiative, a $4-million multi-state nonprofit supporting women in and exiting the sex trade, is set to be featured in a new documentary the Worcester organization hopes will generate more funding as it expands into more states.
Audra Doody, co-executive director of Safe Exit Initiative
“The documentary's broad reach and compelling storytelling are expected to attract new donors, volunteers, and supporters,” SEI Co-executive Director Audra Doody said. “We hope to inspire increased funding and resources that will help us to expand our programs and services.”
Doody, who is a survivor of sex trafficking herself, stars in the documentary “The Right Track”, highlighting SEI’s work and advocating for partial decriminalization: a survivor-centered policy approach criminalizing the solicitation of sex work while protecting those victimized by prostitution and human trafficking.
SEI’s Harbor and Jana’s Place program in Worcester and outreach program in Baltimore together support 3,250 individuals. The organization is set to launch a youth prevention and early intervention program in 2026 located in Palm Beach County, Florida.
In fiscal 2024, SEI generated $4.12 million in revenue, including $1.47 million in government grants and $800,675 in contributions, according to nonprofit financial tracker Candid.
In “The Right Track”, Director Shareen Anderson takes viewers on a trip from SEI’s headquarters in Worcester to the brothels of Nevada to the Red Light District in Amsterdam.
The film features interviews and conversations with survivors and advocates, such as Doody, who depict in vivid terms the violent nature of the survival sex trade and its beneficiaries: sex buyers and pimps.
In addition to sit-down interviews with Doody, “The Right Track” follows her as she works with survivors at SEI’s Harbor day shelter and the nonprofit’s residential treatment program Jana’s Place. At those sites, program participants share their experiences in attempting to exit the sex trade and the positive impact of SEI’s services.
“[Being featured] will help business leaders and community members better understand how our work contributes to economic and social well-being by supporting survivors and fostering community resilience,” Doody said.
The documentary goes with Doody as she speaks to women incarcerated for prostitution at Chicopee’s Western Massachusetts Regional Women’s Correctional Center and as she presents her story to male sex-buying offenders at the Community Approach to Reduce Demand program, provided through Westborough-based Spectrum Health Systems.
Doody was originally introduced to Anderson through Janet Jensen, the founder and CEO of The Jensen Project, a Texas-based organization providing grants to SEI and other anti-trafficking nonprofits. Jensen’s story of purchasing the building of a former Nevada brothel inspired the documentary.
“Just hearing [Doody’s] story, what she's been through, and how she's fighting the fight, I think is so inspiring for people who watch the documentary,” said Anderson.
The documentary is being shown in theaters throughout the country, including Los Angeles, Texas, Chicago, Nevada, and New York City. Its Massachusetts one-night screening will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Somerville Theatre. The film’s trailer is available here.
Doody hopes the documentary will spark conversations with its viewers that go beyond surface-level understandings of what prostitution and sex trafficking are.
“I just know the more that I talk about some of my experiences, the more others are willing to come forward and talk about it,” she said.
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare, manufacturing, and higher education industries.
