She’s fought hard to see hope and hold onto it.
I hope you got a chance to see our Mid-Year Report. The last quarter has been so impactful! You have helped serve more kids than any other quarter in our 13-year history! In the last few months, 202 kids came to us and are now working alongside their Traffick911 advocate. These amazing kids have been graduating high school, getting jobs, engaging in counseling, and meeting goals like crazy. It’s been so incredible to see their progress, but most importantly, see them thrive!
We celebrate every win, and because you are a huge part of making this all happen, I also want to give you an inside look at the other side of our work—the hard part. Because behind every success, there is a long road paved with so much fight and resilience.
For over two years, we’ve been working with a special young lady who has faced many of these highs and lows. Hers is the story that keeps me awake at night.
Skye* was born into a family impacted by intense drug use and incarceration. There was no stability from the very beginning of her young life, but family members stepped in to help raise her and to try to keep her safe. Even so, Skye was trafficked for the first time at just 12 years old.
Her trafficker introduced her to drugs, and when police recovered her, it was evident she needed help immediately. Our team responded at the hospital, where she was treated for her physical injuries, which were a direct result of her trafficking. She spent a week there receiving treatment for the effects of the drugs she had taken—a result of the trauma she endured at the hands of not only her trafficker but the men who purchased her for sex. She was 12.
Our team has walked this journey with Skye for over two years, and this exact scenario has taken place several more times. She’s 14 now, and she still has more hard days than easy ones. She still struggles with addiction, and the current drug epidemic is very real to her.
Her young life has been so hard, and after all these hard days, after all the life she’s lived, she’s still fighting to see hope. We’ve seen her laugh and cry, try and give up and then try again. She’s fought hard to see hope and hold onto it. She has made the decision to trust her advocate and our team despite so many people using her throughout her young life
Friend, I don’t know how her story will unfold, but I do know that she deserves people in her life to come together to fight for her. When I see Skye, I’m reminded that everyone has a place in this fight. Some can step in and touch her life directly. Others can join the fight against trafficking without ever meeting Skye or the thousands of other kids just like her. She deserves you, Friend, and a community, to step up to help in any way we can to ensure she has what she needs to heal and live the life every child deserves to live.
