Here are the stories of three former trafficking victims who now work with HRGlocal:
Here are the stories of three former trafficking victims who now work with HRGlocal:
Mindy
Mindy is a sex trafficking survivor that has overcome the trauma of her experiences and is now a passionate abolitionist, mentor, and advocate for other survivors across Western Michigan. Today a wife and mother of four, her life has been completely transformed by her faith in God and she has found a variety of ways to help spread the hope that she has found. She is dedicated to increasing public awareness, supporting fellow trafficking victims and vulnerable youth at risk for trafficking, and equipping other survivors to become anti-trafficking advocates. Among her other activities, Mindy has written a book entitled Exposing the Darkness: From a Small Town Where People Don’t Talk or Tell. In 2015, Mindy was awarded the Michigan Liberator Award.
Mindy is available to speak to church or civic groups. Click here to read more about Mindy or contact her.
“To me, being a survivor means I just went through an ordeal, but thriving means that I have gone through the ordeal and I am surviving past it. Transcending is when it is no longer part of my life, it’s a backdrop of who I am but it doesn’t rule me. That is where I am now.”
Lynn, Sex Trafficking Survivor
Lynn
Lynn is a trafficking survivor who has transcended her past and now works as an abolitionist, mentor, and advocate for other survivors. At age 27, she was in the midst of a volatile divorce and lost custody of her children, which made her a vulnerable target for predators. She met a man who treated her very kindly, then convinced her to take a trip with him to Florida. Within days, the man turned on Lynn, telling her that she would have to pay her own way by prostituting herself. She was taken from truck stop to truck stop across South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee and North Carolina, where she was repeatedly drugged, beaten and raped.
Twenty-six years after her rescue, Lynn has reclaimed her life and is helping others find the path to healing. She worked for several years with The Hope Project while earning a degree in Human Services and traveling across the country to share her experiences as a trafficking victim. Lynn is now launching an anti-trafficking nonprofit organization called Stomping Out Slavery Coast 2 Coast, and she continues to work as a public speaker and anti-trafficking advocate. She is available to speak to church or civic groups. Click here to read more about Lynn or contact her.
Blake
Blake is a trafficking survivor who was forced into the sex trade at the age of seventeen. She came from a broken home, where her adulterous father abandoned her family when she was only three years old. The absence of unconditional love in Blake’s childhood left a void in her heart and predators found it easy to prey upon Blake’s vulnerability. She was kidnapped and held against her will at three different times. She was forced to peddle her body to strangers all night, every night. When she resisted, she was beaten by her pimps. During that time, Blake had no hope for the future, and so she lived her life from day to day, grasping onto whatever thread of dignity remained intact as she was forced to entertain and please strangers.
But Blake was eventually able to escape, and she has now found salvation and freedom in the unconditional love of God, her Holy Father. She is a truly courageous and remarkable woman who has overcome many obstacles and now works with HRGlocal in an advisory capacity. Click here to read more about Blake.