We Cannot Keep Ignoring These Cries for Help

Human trafficking is all around us. It’s often right in front of our eyes, and we choose not to notice. We would rather turn away and avert our gaze than look at the face of the victims of modern-day slavery across our city. These women are suffering through lives of abuse and torment from their captors, and though we may not see any chains, the suffocating bonds that keep these women trapped in the sex trade are due to substance use coercion.

Our focus are women who are trafficked and exploited as a result of their substance use disorder. 

No little girl plans on becoming a prostitute. No little girl wants to grow up to be an addict. No little girl ever dreams of living in a trap house. And yet, we see these ladies all around us — women who are stuck in a lifestyle they never wanted, being controlled by people who rob them of all wealth, power, and freedom. The cycle of human trafficking often begins when traffickers promise young teenage girls love, adventure, safety, shelter, and opportunity. These predators prey on women from all around our region. Women from wealthy neighborhoods and lower-income neighborhoods alike are each just as vulnerable to being targeted by predators and trapped in the cycle of abuse. 

No matter where they may have come from, they are all forced into a life they never sought out, and they’re often right in front of our eyes. These aren’t faceless women in alleys — they are the lady who sits each day by the corner store, the woman who stands holding a sign beside the highway, and the girl with her infant son forced to collect money on the corner. Many of us keep ignoring the signs of slavery and trafficking all around us, but Garden Home Ministries is making a stand. As advocates for these women, we’re doing everything we can to provide once-trafficked women with safety from predators, hope for the future, and lasting peace and recovery.