Fighting modern-day slavery isn't for the faint of heart. It requires both overflowing love and incredible tenacity, and both can indeed be found in this month's local human trafficking abolitionist, Andrea Holtman! Andrea is the director of Weightless Anchor, a hospitality home run by BLOC ministries in Price Hill. Weightless is a place where women can come in and get a hot meal, a bath, clothing, hygiene items, and community, which is the ministry's real heart and soul. Andrea has been with Weightless since April 2019, and her journey there was anything but ordinary. Her background is in Communication and organizational development, and she previously worked in the healthcare industry as an E.P.I.C. project manager. This came with fancy titles that really "made her feel important," and lots of traveling. In 2017, she began to feel a call from God to leave her job. While trying to figure out what came next, she decided to go on a mission trip to India through her church, Crossroads. While there, she met Kelsie Staser, the director of women's ministries at BLOC. After returning to the States, Kelsie asked her to be the new director at Weightless! Of course, this was a huge change going from the healthcare industry to the non-profit sector, and Andrea had her reservations. That night, as she was praying, she asked God to bring her a literal block of wood if he really, truly wanted her to work at BLOC as the director of Weightless. The next Saturday, Crossroads presented everyone in their congregation with a small block of wood as a sermon illustration, and the rest is history! 

Today, as the director of Weightless, she strives to bring love and light to all the women who come in the doors. Her favorite part of her job is seeing people get clean, get off the streets, and start to build a beautiful life for themselves. It also warms her heart to be able to pray with the women who come in and tell them about the love of God. Of course, there are plenty of hard days, court appointments, hospital visits and difficult conversations that come along with serving those who have experienced the trauma of trafficking and addiction. Still, Andrea does her best to meet each of those challenges with love and grace. Thanks for all you do, Andrea!