I received a call around mid-afternoon on Monday about a woman in distress. When I arrived at the address the caller walked her out the door of this residence and we drove
to a restaurant to talk. I called one of our volunteers, Nita, who is a medical professional
to come along to hear what the young woman was concerned about. I also called another
person who monitors the street ministry to be there also to document the situation.
This 23 year old woman, who was at one time a university student, had temporarily found herself homeless. A person that she recently met encouraged her to come over to this particular residence where she could stay for a while until she found a way to find
housing again. To make a long story short, by staying at this house she found herself
in a situation that she felt she had no control over and she was trafficked in to prostitution
for drug dealers, their relatives and others who stop by the residence to party and buy drugs. She related to us there were other young women there that found themselves in the same situation and have ended up being abused and trafficked in similar fashion. We have this particular woman in our care and have temporarily found a safe house for her. We are currently introducing her to medical professionals that will be checking her for STD's, helping her with some of the P.T.S.D. and other issues that are sure to manifest during the coming months. Today I took her to a trusted friend to hear her story and he will backdoor this information through the proper channels to see what can we done about this serious situation and possibly help others that may have found themselves victims. Our young person spent a good share of today with Karen, our nurse/social work student/volunteer, as we prepare to further help her find assistance to this trauma.
This situation is taxing our small budget and we will be asking again for assistance in this effort. We would also ask if any one knows of a lawyer who would be willing to do pro-Bono work in this woman's case. There are a few other issues that have manifested themselves out of conversation with this young woman that need to be addressed also.
We took her to a thrift shop this evening to get her some clothing and another store to purchase her a phone. This woman doesn't appear the type of person that would ever find herself in this kind of a situation. But there are many other women that thought being trafficked couldn't happen to them either. Please keep this young person in your prayers and we will be sending out requests for further assistance in the near future.
Thanks always for your support,
Mike
Plymouth Church Street Pastor