To understand my story, you need to go back before I was born. My mom met my dad at 18. She was young and naïve and hungry for love. After 2 weeks, they married and moved from California to Florida, away from her family. Shortly after arriving in Florida, he began physically abusing her and forced my mother into prostitution – what we call trafficking. When she found out she was pregnant with me, she ran in the middle of the night back to her parents. When I was 3, we moved out on our own. My mom put herself through school and worked hard to provide. Being a single mother wasn’t easy, and often I was left alone. When I was 4, I met our neighbor who was a friendly man. Eventually, I began visiting his apartment alone. For about 10 years, he abused and filmed me. I didn’t fully understand that it was wrong, but he told me it had to be a secret, and he promised me a kitten. I never told my mother. When I was 15, my mom woke me up in the middle of the night, told me to pack a bag, and we moved 3 hours away because my biological father was trying to kidnap me. Eventually he was arrested for trafficking his stepdaughters. He spent 10 years in jail and was put on the sex offender’s registry. After his release, he did try to reunite, saying he had changed, but there were many red flags and eventually I cut him off. I tried to live a normal life. I graduated high school, went to bible college feeling a passion to work with women who had been prostituted and abused. I met my husband at school and earned a bachelor’s in social work. My husband is a nurse practitioner, and I work with women who have been sex trafficked. We have 3 biological children and 3 adopted children. From the outside, we look like a perfect family. But … I never dealt with the trauma and the abuse that had occurred. I began to have nightmares. Sometimes, the women’s stories would trigger me. I had no idea how to sleep without the terrors haunting me. I began to throw myself into life even more, trying to be the perfect wife, mom and employee – all while my insides were in turmoil. One night, in December 2022, I had two glasses of wine while out with my husband. I had never been a big drinker and had never done illegal drugs. But, that night, I slept well. The alcohol numbed the pain. For the next few months, I drank – sometimes 3 bottles of wine a night. My family begged me to stop, and I tried. I tried counseling, but in June, I had a really bad day and turned to alcohol again. I figured it was one day … I would wake up the next day and go to work and do my regular life. Instead, I woke up in the ER with a tube down my nose, stomach pumped and restrained to the bed. That was my rock bottom. As a social worker, I knew my options for rehab programs. The ones that accepted my insurance were not great. I did find one that looked amazing but was $10,000 for 30 days. One night, as I was crying out to God, I remembered the Potter’s Hands Foundation. I knew I needed to deal with the trauma from being exploited as a child or I would never get healthy again. I have been so blessed by the Potter’s Hands Foundation. Going into the program, I was so lost. I was a mom of 6 kids, social worker and wife! But I was struggling so hard. God used the Potter’s Hands Foundation in so many ways to help me heal from deep, generational trauma. In the program, there were many tears and so much healing and growth. I told the staff things I have never shared before and received deep healing. The classes were foundational, and I am grateful for all of the staff, volunteers, and donors who make this program possible. Today, my family and I have moved across the country and are doing really well! My husband and I are both working in our fields and volunteering in the community. We enjoy hunting, fishing, and exploring on 4-wheelers. My passion for helping women who have survived sex trafficking is deeper and stronger than ever, and I remain committed to helping others heal as deeply as I have.