Sage Project

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Svetlana Pivchik, SAGE Adult Case Manager, has been with SAGE for over 10 years working with adult, youth and transitional youth populations. With 10 years of experience providing trauma informed counseling and case management, she provides services around substance abuse/trauma recovery and works with former and current sex workers utilizing the principles of harm reduction. She specializes in facilitating psycho-educational and process groups such as Seeking Safety and Domestic Violence. Her work is informed by her background in dance and passion for the arts. She regularly incorporates art projects, movement and somatic interventions in both individual and group counseling. She enjoys being a mother and an active member of the San Francisco dance community.

Dina Smith is a mother, a grandmother and a native of San Francisco. She is currently the Director of Programs at the SAGE Project where she has been employed for over 10 years. She began as a trainer with the SAGE project in 2004 and has since trained hundreds from California to the Carolina’s. She is a State of California Certified Addiction Treatment Specialist and Certified in HIV Case Management and Health Education. She brings over 14 years of experience working in the field of Addiction and 10 years experience working with domestically trafficked women and girls. She completed her Drug and Alcohol Studies at City College of San Francisco. She graduated from New College of California, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Humanities with a concentration on Psychology; she earned her Masters of Social Work degree at the University of California, East Bay, and is currently working towards her PhD at Walden University. Dina is the winner of the 2011 “Modern Day Abolitionist” Award by the Department on the Status of Women and the Human Rights Commission.

SAGE provides services to adults and youth who have experienced exploitation, violence, substance abuse and trauma. As one of the first organizations in the country to do this important work; SAGE works with many other organizations and survivor-focused groups to inform the discussion on the linkages of substance abuse, violence, sexual abuse, and early sexual traumas with involvement in the sex industry and/or other situations that lead to continued trauma in the life cycle. For over 20 years, SAGE has been a generator of information, programs and assistance to help individuals and communities identify and address issues and transform pain into strength.

SAGE was founded in 1992 by Norma Hotaling, and incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in 1995. Norma was a survivor of childhood human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation; these experiences continued into adulthood taking her through addiction, prostitution, and homelessness until ultimately she said “no more.” With the help of others, Norma designed a program that would work for her and countless other women who would join her journey. Norma went to college, graduating magna cum laude, and realized her dream, founding the SAGE Project to provide a safe place for survivors to leave lives of sexual exploitation, addiction, and trauma. Her intent was for survivors to begin safe, healthy lives free of violence and psychological coercion. Norma passed away in December 2008 following a brief illness.

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