HER Victory is a frontline organization in Calgary dedicated to supporting women impacted by sexual exploitation, trafficking, addiction, and violence. HER stands for “Healing, Exit, Restoration,” which are key elements of the comprehensive approach the organization takes in providing support. Rooted in outreach and relationship-based care, HER Victory meets women where they are and provides practical, trauma-informed support to help them find safety, stability, and pathways forward.
Learn more about the organization from Jacquie Meyer, the Founder of HER Victory, below:
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From Volunteering to Problem Solving
I didn’t set out to start an organization.
More than 25 years ago, I was volunteering with the Victory Outreach Foundation here in Calgary, serving meals on one of the city’s last remaining sex worker strolls. At the time, I thought I felt we were offering meals and a bit of kindness to women who were struggling, but it didn’t take long to realize the reality of what was happening around me.
These women weren’t just struggling. Many were being exploited, controlled, and trafficked.
There was one moment I will never forget. I watched a woman get forced into an SUV right outside the building. As far as we know, she was never seen again. That changed everything for me. It opened my eyes to the severity of the issue of exploitation and trafficking, and made me want to do more.
What started as volunteering became my career, walking alongside women facing exploitation, addiction, and deep hardship. I have always been a problem solver, and I knew there had to be more practical ways to support women who wanted out.
The Outreach Centre: Meeting Basic Needs to Restore Dignity
In January 2019, we officially launched HER Victory and opened our outreach centre. We started small, raising money for a shower, opening a clothing room, and providing hygiene items. We wanted to meet these women’s basic needs before anything else, because that is where dignity begins.
Today, our work is still rooted in that same belief. We meet women where they are and help them get to a better place. Our stroll teams go out in the evenings to areas where women are being exploited. We build relationships, offer care packages, and invite them into our outreach centre. Inside, we have a team of social workers, caseworkers, a resource navigator, and volunteers who are ready to walk alongside them and connect them to the support they need, whether that is housing, addiction treatment, medical care, or legal services.
Community Work Beyond Our Walls
Our team also works within the community, partnering with other organizations to reach women in need. Every week, we are inside the Calgary Women’s Remand Centre, building relationships with women before they are released so they are not stepping back into the same cycles alone. We have teams that go into illegal massage parlours to connect with women there, letting them know there are other options and people who care.
We have also founded HER Home, a safe house and sober living program. It is in an undisclosed location, and it is a place where women fleeing trafficking situations can safely live while they heal, recover and develop life skills with the support of mentors and peers. There, they receive trauma-informed, non-judgmental care ensuring that every individual is met with dignity, understanding, and long-term support. We recognize that healing from exploitation and trafficking takes time, so we provide sustained guidance to help rebuild trust and independence..
Recognizing the Strength and Resilience of Survivors
If there is one thing I wish more people understood about the work we do and why we do it, it is that survivors are just like you and me. They are someone’s daughter, someone’s sister, someone’s mother. They did not choose exploitation—not one woman we have spoken to has ever said this is the life she wanted. Many are facing addiction, violence, homelessness, and control, and yet they continue to fight for something different. Even in the hardest moments, I see glimpses of joy and hope. The strength, courage, and tenacity of these women never cease to amaze me.
I often think about one woman we recently supported. She had been trafficked across BC, held in unimaginable conditions, and somehow managed to escape and make her way back to Calgary, where she found out she was pregnant. When she connected with us, we were able to meet her immediate needs, including medical care, housing, and support. Today, she is sober, safe, and looking ahead to her baby’s adoption process and her future from a place of stability.
When we choose to see survivors for who they are, we can be part of the solution, helping create pathways to healing from trafficking and a future free from it, where safety, dignity, and hope are possible for everyone.
Strengthening Impact Through Collaboration
Our partnership with #NotInMyCity has been incredibly meaningful. It started simply, when Paul Brandt, Founder of #NotInMyCity, showed up at our doorstep wanting to help however he could, and has grown into a hands-on collaboration that provides real, tangible support for the women we serve. #NotInMyCity has been a continued supporter of our backpack program, donating bags filled with hygiene items, clothes, and other essentials that we can give out to women who need them. It has been incredible working alongside them as allies in our shared mission of supporting survivors by restoring dignity and creating pathways forward.
To learn more about HER Victory and see how you can support their work, visit hervictory.ca, or follow them on social @her_victory. You can also read their 2025 Impact Report here.
Ending exploitation is not something any one organization can do alone. It takes all of us, working together, across communities, systems, and everyday moments of awareness and action to create lasting change.
To learn more about how you can be part of the difference, visit notinmycity.ca.
To learn more about how you can be an ally, and to stay tuned for future fundraising events, follow #NotInMyCity on Instagram or Facebook!
