The Call to Volunteer
As a child I witnessed domestic abuse in my home and because of that I later became interested in studying the cycle of abuse. I did my college internship at a women's crisis shelter and found a passion to help women recover from crisis.
I want to help women know they are worthy of being emotionally healthy and they can have the strength to overcome anything.
Although I didn't follow this in my career, it was still my passion. When I moved back to Houston four years ago, I learned about sex trafficking in my city and felt pulled to get involved. A friend invited me to an Outreach Hub and I instantly knew I had found my calling.
Sex trafficking and the grooming process is the cycle of abuse on steroids.
I petitioned to start my own Outreach Hub which is still the only one in the inner loop of Houston, a huge hub for trafficking. I grew my volunteer base by advertising in local coffee shops, my church and with other anti trafficking groups. Over the last three years that I've led this Outreach Hub, I've had over 200 volunteers come through the doors.
One of my favorite parts about the Outreach Hub is coming together at the end of the night and sharing stories from all of the callers. Sometimes the stories are sad, funny, hopeful, overwhelming or uplifting. It's amazing to see the energy people get at the end of the night which helps bring them back month after month and bring new volunteers with them in the future.
My two most memorable calls: One was my longest call. We chatted about everything! It made me realize she enjoyed the normalcy of a simple call to just chit-chat. We talked about her favorite TV shows (which we had in common), what she wanted to be when she grew up, her favorite type of weather and all about her two kids.
That night, someone listened to her, wanted to hear what she had to say and truly cared about her for HER. I'm honored that my volunteers and I get to be that person for these survivors.
The other most memorable call was my shortest. I asked if she had been thinking about leaving the life. She paused, started crying hysterically, said "yes" and hung up. I called her personally the next two months but only got her voicemail. And then I didn't see her online again. Her photos from her ad stick in my mind because she looked underage, her eyes were hollow and I could tell she was under the influence. Every time I think back to that call and her cry, I get pulled to where I think she might have been. In a dark room with only an outside street light peeking through her window. Dreading the next John to come through her door. I think and pray for her often.
This is why I'm so passionate about the cause: To have someone take your power is soul crushing.
But I believe to help someone get back their power is the most beautiful extension of God.
I hear so many people say that trafficking is like the war on drugs and we’ll never put an end to it.
But here’s the difference. Drugs are a product, a lifeless inanimate thing. And although pimps and traffickers treat survivors like a product, they’re not!
They’re human beings with hearts and souls and dreams.
So if we can demand disruption, if we can make it our mission to rescue every person that needs it and offer them refuge, if we can be united and childproof our communities, we CAN end sex trafficking.
Being an Outreach Ambassador has opened the doors to more opportunities, people and ways to make a difference. My goal is to educate the public and get people fired up to want to do something. The more people that are aware, the more progress can be made.