Hope for Human Trafficking Survivors in Chicago
Her family moved from shelter to shelter with no stable housing in sight. Facing limited options, Angie decided she needed to care for herself, and moved to the streets.
Soon, she met a man who offered her a roof over her head, food and clothes. But there was a catch – she would need to go to work for him, as a prostitute on the streets of Chicago. For three years, Angie worked every day with the expectation she would bring a predetermined amount of money back to her pimp.
A few years later she found herself pregnant and decided it was time to leave. “It certainly wasn’t easy but I did it,” Angie said. “One day I just never came back.”
She said the important part for people leaving the life is having the support system there for them. “I was able to go to my family,” she said. “If there is nowhere safe to live that is away from the system, people are just going to stay where they are. It is easier, and sometimes safer.”
Angie said she was more scared after she left then when she was a prostitute. “When I was on the streets, I was just numb. You do what you need to do in order to survive. The scary part was when I left; I was afraid that people would come looking for me and hurt my child.”
After Angie left her pimp, she was connected with a staff member from The Salvation Army’s STOP-IT anti-trafficking program.
The program partners with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office and other organizations to provide a host of services to victims including safety planning, identifying stable housing, medical, mental health and dental care, tattoo/branding removal, education and job training, transportation and more. In Angie’s words:
The caseworkers aren’t judgmental, they’re understanding and always have my back. My family doesn’t even do that.
Angie and her family are now in stable housing, one child is in school and another is on the way. She is working to complete her GED with her STOP-IT caseworker’s help. Completing her education and making sure her children receive an education is empowering, according to Angie.
“I have big dreams for my kids,” she said with hope in her voice. “I want them to get an education, get a degree, be successful and have dreams of their own.”
*Names and identifying information have been changed.
Originally published at: https://www.salarmychicago.org/blog/2014/03/hope-human-trafficking-survivors-chicago/