Dawn’s Place is a project supported by Sisters Rising Worldwide. We love receiving updates from our Sisters on how donations have helped change lives, just like Wendy’s remarkable journey. Learn more about the original Dawn’s Place project here.
This story was written with the knowledge and consent of a former resident of Dawn’s Place who has requested her name be changed to protect her identity. “Wendy” struggled with drug addiction. She would tell you that drugs were her trafficker because her addiction forced her to do things that she would not otherwise have done, and she soon found herself a victim of street sex trafficking.
In 2019, Wendy made her first attempt to exit prostitution by enrolling in the residential program. Although she completed the year-long program, she moved out into an apartment and relapsed shortly after. Wendy was particularly at risk for relapse because she had no family or healthy friendships to support her through recovery. She had begun to work on building new relationships, but this takes time and effort for survivors of sex trafficking. Unlike previous times in her life, she was now able to ask for help to get sober.
In 2021, she completed a drug rehabilitation program and enrolled in our program again. Wendy completed a year and thrived. In her own words, “My experience is that it completely changed my life. I came there hopeless, broken, and had no idea how to live a ‘normal life.’ I learned through the structure of the program how to get up in the morning, get ready for my day, regular cleaning routines, and even cooking.” She also had time to herself to “just work on me, my recovery, and healing my trauma which helped make me stronger when I was able to go to work and deal with everyday stress and triggers.” Wendy had her own bedroom and space and free range of the house. She said “it felt more like home instead of another institute. I didn’t have to worry about financial responsibilities like paying rent and bills which helped me solely focus on my healing and recovery.”
Wendy built a community of friends in the program and at her Narcotics Anonymous group. Before graduating, she got a full-time job working in food service. She moved into our transitional After-Care house, Teresita House, where she had more independence but still had access to a support system. While in After-Care, she found a pregnant cat in the neighborhood and wrote a proposal to take in the cat and care for it while she nursed her new kittens. It was approved, and Wendy took care of the cats and helped them all find homes, adopting 2 of the kittens herself. She eventually obtained a housing voucher and moved into an apartment of her own.
Last year, a position for an overnight staff person opened up, and Wendy got the job. She is now a part-time employee and has a second part-time job in food service. She is excited to be part of our staff and has stepped up to help cover more shifts.
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