Survivor Stories

Maria was trafficked for over six years before a joint law enforcement operation brought her to our door. She arrived with severe PTSD, no identification, and a deep distrust of anyone who claimed they wanted to help.

Through our Freedom Center, she found the safety to begin processing her trauma with counselors who understood her experience firsthand. In our transitional living program, she earned her GED, discovered a passion for social work, and slowly began to believe she deserved a future.

Today, Maria is a program director at Helping Captives. She is living proof that survivors don't just recover. They lead.

Jaylen was 14 when she was first exploited. By the time she reached us at 19, she had been in and out of the criminal justice system, blamed for her own victimization, and convinced she was beyond saving.

Our crisis intake team recognized her trauma immediately. Within 48 hours she was connected with a survivor advocate on staff who had walked a similar path. That relationship became the foundation for everything that followed: trauma therapy, health care, and the slow, patient work of rebuilding trust.

Jaylen completed our full continuum of care. She now lives independently, is enrolled in community college, and volunteers as a peer mentor to newly arriving survivors. She often says the hardest part wasn't the program. It was believing she was worth it.

When Rachel entered our program, she had lost custody of her two young children. Her trafficker had used them as leverage for years, and the system had taken them when she couldn't demonstrate stability. The grief of that loss compounded her trauma in ways that made recovery feel impossible.

Our team worked alongside Rachel with legal advocates to navigate family court while she progressed through our transitional living program. She completed substance abuse treatment, parenting classes, and secured stable employment through our job training partnership.

After 18 months of dedicated work, Rachel regained custody of her children. She now lives in her own apartment, holds a steady job, and tucks her kids in every night. She says those bedtime moments are the ones she fought hardest for.