1 00:00:00,635 --> 00:00:02,652 He found me on social media. 2 00:00:03,032 --> 00:00:06,195 She would force me to beg in the street. 3 00:00:06,210 --> 00:00:07,558 My mother... 4 00:00:07,858 --> 00:00:11,337 gave birth to me when she was 14 years old. 5 00:00:24,068 --> 00:00:26,318 I've always had problems... 6 00:00:26,318 --> 00:00:28,567 as if I was born into problems. 7 00:00:28,775 --> 00:00:32,494 I had to quit school early and go to work 8 00:00:32,494 --> 00:00:35,292 for my family to have money. 9 00:00:35,292 --> 00:00:37,612 My dad chose drugs over us. 10 00:00:37,801 --> 00:00:40,891 There's this awful feeling in your stomach 11 00:00:40,891 --> 00:00:43,337 when you know you're not wanted. 12 00:00:43,705 --> 00:00:46,875 I already had friends working in a strip club 13 00:00:47,031 --> 00:00:48,861 They introduced me to a trafficker. 14 00:00:48,891 --> 00:00:51,656 I decided to run away... 15 00:00:51,916 --> 00:00:55,147 I might find love and care some place else. 16 00:00:55,496 --> 00:00:58,816 I couldn't believe how much I made in one night. 17 00:00:58,868 --> 00:01:02,188 I thought I could control what happened from there. 18 00:01:02,534 --> 00:01:04,884 He'd take pictures of us. 19 00:01:04,884 --> 00:01:07,726 I thought what they were doing 20 00:01:07,726 --> 00:01:09,151 to me was okay. 21 00:01:09,444 --> 00:01:11,704 I had my hair and nails done. 22 00:01:12,994 --> 00:01:14,774 I felt beautiful. 23 00:01:14,950 --> 00:01:17,880 He gave my family a computer and phones. 24 00:01:18,058 --> 00:01:19,831 My friends didn't have those, 25 00:01:19,868 --> 00:01:21,183 so I felt proud. 26 00:01:21,273 --> 00:01:22,825 I just didn't realize... 27 00:01:23,195 --> 00:01:25,715 that the person I thought was helping me 28 00:01:25,745 --> 00:01:27,805 and keeping me protected... 29 00:01:27,835 --> 00:01:29,445 he was really my pimp. 30 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:31,250 I love her. 31 00:01:31,270 --> 00:01:33,270 I thought she loved me. 32 00:01:33,286 --> 00:01:34,866 But then he started saying 33 00:01:34,866 --> 00:01:35,976 "Rent's not free." 34 00:01:36,007 --> 00:01:40,007 I was forced to work in a nail salon. 35 00:01:40,064 --> 00:01:41,773 I was only twelve years old 36 00:01:41,773 --> 00:01:43,481 when I was first sold for sex. 37 00:01:43,546 --> 00:01:45,616 Mama said: "I'll be giving you 38 00:01:45,646 --> 00:01:47,926 to my American friend." 39 00:01:47,926 --> 00:01:49,676 I said "okay". 40 00:01:49,756 --> 00:01:52,515 But when the time came... 41 00:01:52,921 --> 00:01:55,276 I tried to hide from him 42 00:01:55,464 --> 00:01:58,347 behind the cars in the parking lot. 43 00:01:58,347 --> 00:02:00,301 I couldn't avoid the beatings. 44 00:02:00,301 --> 00:02:02,057 I begged to go home. 45 00:02:02,190 --> 00:02:05,384 My hands were swollen from the work. 46 00:02:05,424 --> 00:02:07,398 It hurt to walk. 47 00:02:07,858 --> 00:02:09,833 I needed to do what he wanted 48 00:02:09,833 --> 00:02:11,681 because he paid for me 49 00:02:11,781 --> 00:02:13,984 People kept asking what was wrong 50 00:02:13,984 --> 00:02:16,218 I kept making up answers. 51 00:02:16,218 --> 00:02:18,565 I couldn't just tell my mom, because 52 00:02:18,595 --> 00:02:20,565 she would have just called the cops 53 00:02:20,565 --> 00:02:22,045 and I didn't want that. 54 00:02:22,125 --> 00:02:23,469 She didn't know how these people act. 55 00:02:23,797 --> 00:02:26,631 Then some people did call the police 56 00:02:26,631 --> 00:02:30,099 but they would just come and then leave 57 00:02:30,209 --> 00:02:32,359 and nothing would change. 58 00:02:32,389 --> 00:02:34,340 ...And no one could help me. 59 00:02:34,340 --> 00:02:37,580 I thought my life would end there. 60 00:02:37,937 --> 00:02:40,049 Someone called Love146. 61 00:02:40,049 --> 00:02:43,478 I said I wasn't going to see them, but... 62 00:02:43,548 --> 00:02:45,058 they kept showing up. 63 00:02:45,058 --> 00:02:46,581 They knew what I needed. 64 00:02:46,591 --> 00:02:48,527 The people were there and got us. 65 00:02:48,527 --> 00:02:50,973 They brought me to Love146. 66 00:02:50,973 --> 00:02:53,216 Talking to Love146 67 00:02:53,216 --> 00:02:54,786 was the first time I realized 68 00:02:54,786 --> 00:02:56,977 what was really happening to me. 69 00:02:56,977 --> 00:02:58,212 I was given.. 70 00:02:58,212 --> 00:02:59,747 a light, and.. 71 00:02:59,747 --> 00:03:01,751 a way out when I met you. 72 00:03:01,879 --> 00:03:04,817 Now, I try to remember 73 00:03:04,817 --> 00:03:07,249 when I'm angry or sad 74 00:03:07,249 --> 00:03:09,481 that it's okay to cry. 75 00:03:09,481 --> 00:03:11,179 ...But everything that happened before 76 00:03:11,179 --> 00:03:13,233 is starting to become a smaller part of my life 77 00:03:13,233 --> 00:03:15,571 because it's being replaced with good memories 78 00:03:15,587 --> 00:03:19,572 My Love146 worker is like a mom to me. 79 00:03:19,881 --> 00:03:23,936 She.. showed me that... 80 00:03:23,936 --> 00:03:26,082 I'm deserving of much more than this. 81 00:03:26,102 --> 00:03:29,374 When everyone else just thought I was a bad kid, 82 00:03:29,374 --> 00:03:30,481 she listened. 83 00:03:30,485 --> 00:03:33,045 I felt like it was my fault, 84 00:03:33,195 --> 00:03:34,015 but... 85 00:03:34,224 --> 00:03:36,733 Now I can explain to people how he tricked me. 86 00:03:36,943 --> 00:03:38,835 The hardest part 87 00:03:39,055 --> 00:03:41,397 is knowing that they couldn't find him. 88 00:03:41,472 --> 00:03:43,548 I imagine that he is just around the corner 89 00:03:43,588 --> 00:03:45,184 and he could shoot me. 90 00:03:46,642 --> 00:03:49,151 Even if there are people 91 00:03:49,151 --> 00:03:51,660 who continue to harm children, 92 00:03:52,084 --> 00:03:55,537 there are more people who still can love 93 00:03:55,537 --> 00:03:57,038 children like us. 94 00:03:57,232 --> 00:04:00,511 I am now living independently 95 00:04:00,511 --> 00:04:01,962 and I feel great. 96 00:04:02,050 --> 00:04:04,490 Love146 valued me. 97 00:04:04,967 --> 00:04:07,443 It was here that I became strong. 98 00:04:07,992 --> 00:04:10,334 It was here that I learned how to be loved 99 00:04:10,434 --> 00:04:13,750 and how to love myself and other people. 100 00:04:13,909 --> 00:04:16,409 I learned to stand on my own two feet. 101 00:04:16,532 --> 00:04:19,058 I'm not just another statistic. 102 00:04:19,275 --> 00:04:21,109 I'm not ready to give up. 103 00:04:21,150 --> 00:04:23,393 I still have fight left in me. 104 00:04:24,023 --> 00:04:26,754 I'm gonna make it.