What Would You Do To Dream Again?

I met Alaina* a few years ago, almost immediately after she was exploited for the first time. Although she was not in “the life” for very long, this one experience changed the landscape of Alaina’s life in ways she never imagined. 

It took nearly three months of meeting with her regularly before Alaina felt comfortable opening up about what she’d experienced. The reality of her situation was that this singular experience of exploitation changed everything for Alaina—crushing her self-esteem and diminishing her ability to dream. She told me that she no longer believed that people would fight for her.

Through consistent and careful trust-building efforts over time, Alaina began to let her guard down. I walked alongside her through the process of rediscovering her self-worth. I remember the day I sat across from her at lunch and life had returned to her eyes. Alaina began to blossom as she started believing she was worthy—worthy of being fought for, worthy of protecting, and worthy of dreaming once more.

Just a few months ago, Alaina shared a new dream - she wants to write a book about her experiences. Together, we worked to break down her dream into smaller goals, and she has been accomplishing them each one by one! She’s pursuing her GED and has even started her first job. This type of dreaming does not take place in a bubble, friends. When I sit across from Alaina, I know that I have an army of supporters sitting behind me, cheering us on, standing in the gap for Alaina and other young girls like her who are fighting for freedom every day. 

When you choose to #GiveFreedom on Giving Tuesday, you choose to advocate for a renewed sense of purpose and worth for every single survivor who was ever told they were unworthy. You play a role in their ability to dream. Without faithful supporters, I would not have the resources to meet youth like Alaina and help them rediscover their ability to dream.

Take a stand today, friend.

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*Traffick911 is committed to honoring those with lived experience. Names and identifying details are removed or modified in all stories to protect the identity of the youth we serve as this is their story to tell.