She was trapped in a pickup truck in a place she didn’t know with a man she didn’t know. But then they saw her hand and they turned around to help. Thank You to Law Enforcement - so Grateful for what you do. It’s because of You….. that She got out…..

It was a Beautiful New Year’s Eve. Thankful for their teacher.. She Saw them and She Stood with them…

They got out…

The Sisters are starting over!!!

She wanted to meet us at McDonalds…because she could ride her bike there… and that’s where she felt safe. As she drank her hot fudge sundae, she shared her story. Everybody everywhere has a story…. and today.. she got to share hers.

She has been on the run for years… went to court again… got her ankle monitor and got help. She can finally sleep at night. We are so thankful for safe spaces and safe housing. She gets to finish her education and sleep in safety.

We found her! Last year we met her in a hospital.. and we told her we would follow her wherever she is moved to. We have been to North LA…. South LA… and now out in the middle of nowhere on the backside of a farm…. we found her. She screamed as we got out of the car! We did not forget… we don’t ever forget…

“Do you remember me?”

Alliece responded, “I remember your eyes.”

It’s been a couple of years since we’ve worked with her. But one thing we never forget when working with survivors - the eyes tell so much about the depth of the story and the soul…

She was forced to abort her father’s kid… she couldn’t leave the house…. her animals were her comfort…she was forced to work at her father’s business.. he hid her out on numerous properties… but she escaped and found police and told her story…

We drove across the state to meet her….. she hasn’t been allowed to go to school since 6th grade…. she is now 17….. but still has a dream….. she told us, “I want to go to college and be a veterinarian.”

Wept with a Dad today… He traced her steps… He wrote his phone number on a brown paper bag and told the bus station if they see his daughter to call him… An hour and a half later, the bus station called… They saw her…He got her back…

She’s 13…Her head was shaved… she had a new phone and they changed her identity…But she got out.

She lost her mom… then lost her family. A “front office staff mom” took her in. She’s 19….she still graduated.. She got out.

We met her when she was 16… just a kid. Years later we get to meet her again….barely an adult. She got out….And “they” are going in.

When she was in rehab for the first time, she got kicked out for fighting over a cupcake. In her second rehab, she got recruited into trafficking. We found her two years later.....on the way to a new start......on her birthday. She finally got her cupcake.

When she looks at Christmas gifts, they don’t feel like gifts because she had to pay for them with more than money - with herself. The cost was too high.

“I never realized I was a victim. I always thought I was a perpetrator. But I got life and he got out.”

She knew she was special because she was allowed to ride in the front seat next to him. She knew she was special because he bought her a McDonald’s Happy Meal. Eventually she realized she was cargo. She was dollar signs. She was disposable.

All he ever wanted was legos, but he was never given the opportunity to play. His childhood was stolen because the younger they are, the more expensive they are.

Abused and forgotten, a girl, living in a cage. All she ever wanted was a pair of bright shiny rain boots and to jump in a puddle.

She was used and thrown away like trash. But if they hadn't decided to throw her away to die, she wouldn't have been able to get out. A human wrapped in a trash bag, she was able to escape.

Prison should never feel like a safer place for a 16 year old girl than a family.

A mama and daughter, both waiting for the bus, both babies searching for a better life.