01 · Care
Trauma-informed therapy
Sessions begin only after the child is ready; pacing is set by the child, not the calendar. Modalities adapted to age and need. The clinical work that actually rebuilds.
Iowa 501(c)(3) nonprofit Confidential location
The rescue is the beginning. The walk is the work.
A faith-based restoration home being established in Iowa for the long-term care of children rescued from trafficking.
Where the home is being established · Iowa
Every county. Every year.
It happens in small towns and in big cities. Outreach begins in the seven Iowa counties where need and infrastructure are most concentrated: Polk, Linn, Scott, Johnson, Black Hawk, Woodbury, and Pottawattamie. The home will receive a child rescued from any of the 99.
Restoration is the long walk after the rescue.
We are starting with one home. The vision is to establish many.
Dr. Michael & Mary Jo Peters
Co-founders, Let My Children Go
When Michael and Mary Jo learned the reality of human trafficking in Iowa, they were moved to action. It happens in communities across all 99 counties.
A child traumatized this severely needs more than physical safety. These children need to receive trauma-informed care and the love of God through people of compassion. The environment of the restoration home enables the children to experience healing mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally.
“Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Let my people go.”
Exodus 5:1 · The verse the org is named after
What you have not been told
About4,000
Iowa children are reported missing every year. Most are endangered runaways.
Iowa Missing Person Information Clearinghouse
1in7
of those endangered runaways is likely a victim of sex trafficking.
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
An estimated250to500
Iowa children are trafficked every year. New victims, every year.
Derived from the figures above
Only14to18%
of trafficking victims are ever identified by official systems.
National Institute of Justice
Every figure here is published and sourced. See the full method on our resources page.
Long-term residential restoration care for trafficked children in Iowa is critically scarce. Iowa's dedicated trafficking restoration homes serve adults. For a trafficked child, the state offers short-term emergency shelter and very little beyond it. Let My Children Go exists to build the lasting care these children need.
The Long Walk
Rescue is days. Restoration is the extended work that follows.
A child traumatized this severely needs more than physical safety. The home is being established around the ongoing work of healing.
02 · Home
A real home, not a placement
Meals together at the same table. The same trained adults present in the same rooms day after day. A room of their own. Schoolwork resumed at whatever level fits, not whatever grade their birthday says. The structure of an ordinary life, slowly restored until it stops feeling unfamiliar.
03 · Faith
Faith formation, offered not imposed
Christian community alongside professional care, never in place of it. The love of God's people surrounds the home: meals brought, prayers spoken, presence offered. Faith is invited at each child's request. The orientation is gospel-shaped; the practice is patience.
04 · Time
As long as restoration requires
A home for as long as restoration requires. The walk is patient, child-paced, and steady. The orientation is healing first, transition only when a child is ready. No graduation deadline.
Restoration is a door,
not a deadline.
How the work happens
A child walks the path because someone walks it with them.
Partners are the people who make the home possible. Monthly partnership funds the ongoing work of restoration.
Tax-deductible. Cancel anytime. Quarterly impact reports.
A home, not a place. Patient care and compassion.
ScrollConfidential location
Iowa restoration home being established. Address withheld for the safety of future residents.
Founded by Dr. Michael Peters
Co-founder with Mary Jo Peters.
Iowa nonprofit corporation
Federal 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
Candid transparency seal
Gold tier, achieved.
If anything ever changes for you, change the gift.
Cancel anytime, no questions. Your card is charged the same day each month. A receipt arrives in your inbox after each charge. We send quarterly impact reports so you see the work your gift is funding. We never sell your information. Partnering with Let My Children Go is received with heartfelt gratitude.
Other ways to stand with us
Giving is one way to stand with us. It is not the only one.
Quieter ways to walk alongside the children who will one day live in the home, and the people preparing it for them.
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Pray for the home.
For the children who will live here. For the staff and volunteers who will care for them. For the long work of restoration.
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Share this work.
Send this page to one person in Iowa who would want to know. Most of the home's first partners will come from someone they trust.
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Write to us.
If you have a specific way you can help, the team would like to hear from you. We respond personally.
Send us a note
If you want to follow along.
Stay informed.
Sign up for our quarterly newsletter. A quiet note from the home as it takes shape, then as it operates. Updates on what is actually happening.
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