Jaime Hindman
Women in the sex industry don’t want to be part of that world, insists hairstylist Jaime Hindman of Triko salon in Newport Beach, Calif. Instead, such women — including Jaime herself at one time – feel as though they have no choice.
That’s why Hindman has started Divine, a nonprofit ministry dedicated to providing love, hope and encouragement to women down on their luck, including exotic dancers, escorts, porn stars and sex trafficking victims. “We want to teach them what it’s like to feel cared about and loved,” she says. To accomplish that goal, Divine’s volunteers pay visits to exotic dance clubs, bringing gift bags to the women who work there.
With the help of her partners, Alycia Gagne and Meli Lee, plus a group of volunteers from Mariner’s Church, the newly formed Divine has visited clubs in Anaheim on two occasions, reaching more than 100 women. Their method is simple: Two or three of them stop at the entrance to ask club officials if they can drop off their gift bags, which include cosmetics and jewelry as well as a card explaining Divine and how to get into contact with the organization. “We want to be invited in,” says Hindman. The goal is to create an ongoing relationship with the clubs and the women who work there.
Hindman conceived the idea after attending a Mariner’s program called Rooted. “It was the first time I shared my whole story, which includes being in this industry,” she recalls. “I hadn’t talked about it for 11 years. By the end of the program, God told me I’d have to be a light for these women.”
Visit the Divine website to find out how you can help. “These women are broken before they ever enter the clubs,” Hindman says. “They don’t know how to do life differently. Our goal is to plant seeds and listen and love them.”
