“God gave his hardest battles to his strongest warriors” a man said to me as we hugged each
other with empathy for the experience we shared of walking a path of recovery from human
trafficking. Early in my recovery I found it hard to accept my experiences and felt I was damaged
goods tossed to the wolves for dinner. Living in a world with strong judgements for one's
experiences in life; “who was I now?”, “Where is my life going?”, and “how to come up from the
pits of hell?”, I asked myself.
I felt a strong pull to help others my entire life, possibly what caused me to be vulnerable to
individuals who had a tendency to abuse; feeling their pain that they lack ability to express in
healthy ways drew me to wanting to help. Only months after being rescued from a small room
where I laid on the floor crawling in a ball waiting for the next man I was ordered to service, I
found myself aching for death, dying to escape the daily misery I felt and the vivid nightmare
that continued to plague my mind. I attempted to end my life, nearly accomplishing my goal. I
was saved by an angel in the night and brought to the hospital to recover. I soon found recovery
for my addiction and mental health.
As my journey continued, I longed for a stable life with my children; watching them grow and
learn, feeling their hugs and love, and teaching them to prosper into compassionate humans. I
enrolled in college to finish my degree and began working a job in recovery.
Fighting for my kids from my ex-abuser became the daily hell I soon faced, continuing to learn of
the abuse they experienced and praying for help. I became overwhelmed for the items I lacked
at home and my living situation had become uneasy as well. A landlord who seemed
professional transformed quickly into an abuser who harassed me verbally and by watching
video cameras that I begged to be shut down.
As I faced these struggles I became ill and doctors longed to find what was causing the
debilitating pain in my body; they concluded months later with multiple sclerosis (MS).
Financially strapped after being laid off, a single mom of multiple children, and soon facing
homelessness, I reached out for support to find loving hands and hearts who lifted my family up.
Thanks to the support my children had new clothing to begin school, we had the financial ability
to move, the help of several wonderful humans helping us move, and support to encourage
self-care with a gift of massage therapy. The support of people through Stop Trafficking has
help my family and me to create a beautiful and relaxing home where we can find healing
together.
Thank you to all those who help support Stop Trafficking. I am more grateful than words can
express, as I am able to finally enjoy life again and have been reminded of my value in life.
Much love from myself and children. The children have said “I love my new home, we actually
have our own space!”, “ I enjoy showing my new clothes off. I fit in with the kids at school this
year!”, and “ I’m happy I don’t have to look over my shoulder so to say. I can finally just play in
our yard with my brothers and sister and have fun”. They expressed their warm gratitude for al
the help.