A Survivor’s Journey
What does a survivor's walk towards new life really look like? What do we mean when we reference a survivor's healing journey? Every survivor's story is different, but to find answers to these questions and gain more understanding on a what a survivor goes through when they exit the life, we want to invite you into *Chloe's story.
Chloe had been sexually exploited for years, living with her trafficker, being sold multiple times a day, and addicted to the drugs used to numb her reality. One day, after being physically abused and threatened by her trafficker, she hits a breaking point and desires a way out of the life. After receiving a call from a Rescue America Outreach Hub volunteer, offering her a message of hope as well as our hotline number, Chloe gets a moment away from her trafficker and makes the call; she hears the message of hope that if she’s ready, she can leave the life and start over.
After working with our Exit Strategists over the phone, Chloe walks to a public location and gets picked up by an Exit Team. She is brought to a partner program where she can receive the care that she needs to stabilize from her trauma. Chloe is excited about moving forward, but after years of living in the same familiar environment, using drugs to numb herself, and having formed trauma bonds to her trafficker due to the situations he created, she soon begins questioning if she can really make this change as all she has known for so long is suddenly gone.
When a survivor has the courage to call the hotline and take that first step to exit the life, it's huge!
But after deciding to exit, they can face many obstacles that make the decision to continue moving forward difficult, and starting over isn't always easy.
After leaving the life, Chloe is filled with fear of the unknown. Not having access to the drugs she has been on for so long has taken a toll on her, and she fights feelings of unworthiness, telling herself starting over will be too painful when that life was all she knew. Chloe feels it would be easier to return to what’s familiar to her, and she decides to go back to her trafficker. In this moment, she chooses to focus on the time he told her he would always take care of her and provide for her needs. Not realizing the amount of manipulation and coercion behind his empty words, Chloe foregoes her exit and returns to the life.
Breaking free of the manipulation they've endured for years takes time for survivors, and returning to the life sometimes seems like their easiest option. However, the story isn't over yet!
After being back in the life for a while and suffering more abuse from her trafficker and the consumers who use her, re-experiencing the manipulation and threats, Chloe realizes that what she’s being forced to do is not her choice. One night when she gets a moment alone, she calls our hotline again, holding onto the glimpse of hope she felt when she exited the first time. This time, she is truly ready to leave. Chloe gets picked up and brought to our Rescue America Affiliate Home in a city away from her trafficker. In a community environment, she enters into an Emergency Care Program and begins the therapy and processing she needs to begin to heal. She encounters the love of Jesus and learns about her true identity in Him; she believes He can redeem all things.
The work to come out of agreement with the lies she’s believed and address the trauma she’s been through is painful and takes time, but Chloe knows there is hope and she is strong enough to make it through.
She finally believes she is not too far gone and new life is on the horizon.
Chloe’s story represents the arduous journey that survivors take once they decide to leave the life, but in the end, we see that although the path is difficult, we can trust God’s timing and work in survivors' hearts when they choose to take that step. Every survivor's story is different, they may choose to go back multiple times before they’re ready to leave for good, or they may exit once and never turn back. No matter what their journey looks like, we believe God has a redemptive solution for each one of them, and we are so thankful for those who partner with us to rescue, revive and empower them along the way.
*based on the realities of survivors we’ve served at Rescue America
