Journey Out

What Journey Out does

Journey Out is a 501(c)(3)-style nonprofit social-services organization founded in June 1980 in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles (originally as The Mary Magdalene Project) that provides direct, trauma-informed services to survivors of sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. Its core programs include a Drop-In Center and survivor-led empowerment groups, intensive case management, individual therapy and crisis counseling, a 24/7 crisis response team, direct street outreach, survivor mentorship, and youth prevention education addressing online recruitment tactics on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. The organization does not operate a technology platform; its underlying capability rests on trauma-informed care methodologies, harm-reduction approaches, and stages-of-change intervention delivered by staff, many of whom are survivors themselves.

Service delivery is anchored at the Van Nuys headquarters (7136 Haskell Ave, Suite 125) and extends across Los Angeles County via partnerships. The most strategically significant of these is with Dignity Health, which underpins the Medical Safe Haven program at Northridge Family Medical Clinic and the Survivor Advocate Program embedded in Glendale Memorial, California Medical, St. Mary's Long Beach, and other LA Metro hospitals. Journey Out also operates the Human Trafficking Posting Project (taken over from the National Council of Jewish Women) in partnership with the LA City Attorney's Office to implement California SB 1193 across mandated establishments. All services are provided at no cost to clients.

The business model is donation-and-grant funded rather than revenue-generating: the organization accepts charitable contributions through its website and various fundraising initiatives, holds GuideStar Gold Transparency 2024 certification, and earned media coverage in outlets including the Los Angeles Times, CNN, Washington Post, and HLN. Initial capitalization was a $30,000 grant from the Presbyterian Women of America in 1980. Scale indicators include over 17,000 services delivered to 300+ individuals in 2018 alone and tens of thousands of basic-needs distributions annually (2,105 clothing, 2,360 food, 2,258 hygiene items). The organization is governed by a Board of Directors and led by Executive Director Nayeli May.

Name

Journey Out

Legal name

The Journey Out

Website

https://journeyout.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Journey Out is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit founded in 1980 that delivers trauma-informed crisis intervention, case management, survivor mentorship, hospital advocacy, and youth prevention services to survivors of sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation, all at no cost to clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Human Trafficking Survivor Services

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Substance Use Recovery & Harm Reduction Support Services (BPAGAEAO)

Keywords

• Human trafficking services
• Survivor support programs
• Crisis intervention services
• Trauma-informed care
• Community education

Headquarters

HQ city

Van Nuys

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Journey Out operates as a non-profit organization funded primarily through donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations. The organization accepts charitable contributions through its website donation portal and various fundraising initiatives.

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Journey Out is a nonprofit organization that provides comprehensive, no-cost support services to victims and survivors of sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. Its core offering is a continuum of care including crisis intervention, case management, survivor-led advocacy, individual therapy, support groups, emergency housing referrals, and direct street outreach, anchored by a Drop-In Center in Van Nuys and a Medical Safe Haven partnership with Dignity Health.

Product overview

Journey Out is a nonprofit social services organization providing a comprehensive suite of programs for survivors of sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. The core offerings include the Empowerment Program and Drop-In Center Services for daily support, the Medical Safe Haven partnership for healthcare access, Crisis Response Team for emergency intervention, Survivor Advocate Program for hospital-based support, Youth Programming for prevention, and Community & Agency Education for awareness. These services are interconnected, with Drop-In Centers serving as hubs for case management and referrals, while the Crisis Response Team and Survivor Advocate Program provide immediate intervention and hospital navigation. All programs utilize trauma-informed approaches and harm-reduction methodologies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Drop-In Center & Empowerment Program
• Medical Safe Haven
• Crisis Response Team
• Survivor Advocate Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 17,000+ services provided to 300+ individuals in 2018 alone
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Dignity Health Hospital NorthridgecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on the Medical Safe Haven Program at Northridge Family Medical Clinic, providing full-spectrum victim-centered trauma-informed primary medical care for victims of human trafficking. A Journey Out Case Manager serves as Patient Advocate at the clinic, walking clients through care as an advocate and navigator.
• Dignity Health (Los Angeles Hospitals)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSurvivor Advocate Program places Journey Out Survivor Advocates in Dignity Health hospitals throughout the Los Angeles Metro area, including Glendale Memorial, California Medical, St. Mary's Long Beach, and Northridge. The program provides immediate crisis response and advocacy at hospitals, connecting victims with Journey Out wrap-around services.
• National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJourney Out took over the Human Trafficking Outreach Project from NCJW, now called the Human Trafficking Posting Project. The goal is to ensure human trafficking victims have a number to call for help and concerned citizens can report tips. Volunteers distribute mandated SB 1193 posters to establishments throughout Los Angeles County.
• City Attorney's Office of Los AngelescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to implement California SB 1193 (Steinberg), which requires certain establishments including bars, hospitals, transit stations and hotels to post hotline information for trafficking victims. Journey Out works with the City Attorney's Office and other government offices to ensure mandated establishments know about the law and display required posters.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Peers

• National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC):

Broad incumbents

• Polaris: Operates the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline and runs major anti-trafficking programs nationally. Much larger in scope than Journey Out and operates at the national rather than direct-service level, but shares the core anti-trafficking mission and survivor-support orientation.
• International Justice Mission (IJM): Global anti-slavery and anti-trafficking organization operating rescue, restoration, and prosecution programs worldwide. Mission-aligned with Journey Out but operates at vastly larger scale with law-enforcement partnerships rather than community-based direct service.
• Covenant House: National nonprofit serving youth experiencing homelessness and human trafficking, with shelter, direct services, and survivor support. Broader population (homeless youth) than Journey Out's trafficking focus, but with significant program overlap.

Regional players

• SAGE (Standing Against Global Exploitation): San Francisco Bay Area anti-trafficking organization providing direct services and survivor advocacy. Comparable direct-service model to Journey Out, but operates in Northern California rather than the LA market.

Direct peers

• FAIR Girls: DC-based anti-trafficking organization providing direct services, prevention education, and advocacy for survivor youth and women. Comparable direct-service model and survivor-led approach, though operating in a different region.
• Saving Innocence: LA-based nonprofit providing direct services to sex trafficking survivors, including crisis response, case management, and survivor mentorship. Near-identical service model to Journey Out within the same LA market, making it the closest head-to-head peer.
• Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST): LA-based nonprofit providing direct services, case management, and advocacy for survivors of human trafficking and slavery. Most direct geographic and programmatic peer to Journey Out, with overlapping client populations and service models in the same Los Angeles market.
• GEMS (Girls Educational and Mentoring Services): NYC-based nonprofit serving commercially sexually exploited and trafficked girls and young women, with direct services including case management, mentoring, and education. Closely mirrors Journey Out's CSEC survivor focus but operates on the East Coast.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC2ZL0VwC3NI8Y4panr8p_iA
• Instagraminstagram.com/JourneyOutLA
• Xx.com/journeyoutla
• Facebookfacebook.com/JourneyOutLA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/journey-out

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Journey Out