Whatever
Happened...
Question: What ever happened to Sisters Offering Support, the ailing organization designed to get prostitutes off the street that only three years ago was running on $40,000 a year? Sisters Offering Support
plans mainland growthBy Mary Vorsino.
mvorsino@starbulletin.comAnswer: Sisters Offering Support, also known as SOS, has grown enormously in recent years, said its founder and special adviser, Kelly Hill, who is scheduled to receive a national award today.
The Hawaii-based nonprofit organization now has a yearly budget of nearly $400,000 and plans to expand to the mainland and elsewhere. SOS, aiming to fight child pornography and teen and adult prostitution, has seven paid positions and numerous volunteers.
Hill, a former prostitute, began the organization six years ago with her sister and grandmother to give support to former and current prostitutes. After leaving the trade herself, Hill received support from her sister, and decided to offer support to former prostitutes who do not have helpful relatives or friends.
In recent years the organization has brought educational programs to Hawaii's public and private schools and organized workshops for the community.
Hill has relocated temporarily to Los Angeles in order to raise funds to begin an office in California. She hopes to raise at least $200,000 for the new office.
The organization hopes to "duplicate what we've done in the Hawaii community" elsewhere, Hill said. Locally, she said, SOS is "coming a lot closer to building a solid organization."
After her work with SOS was publicized in a national magazine, Hill recently was nominated as one of 10 Outstanding Young Americans. She was scheduled to receive the national award in a ceremony in Sioux Falls, S.D., today.
To reach SOS, call 941-5554.
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