At age 6, Erica’s abuse began. After years of exploitation, and without the protection of her mom, she moved from place to place and ultimately became homeless by the age of 12.

“I did what I had to for shelter and to survive. I guess you could say I was pretty sexualized at a young age. My upbringing was filled with drugs and alcohol and abuse. I had three kids by the time I was 19.”

Erica was trafficked for the next eight years.

“There was no question in my mind. It was money. I had no value, no worth. I had no reason to say no. I had my daughter and was homeless. I thought my body was only for other people’s pleasure.”

Erica remembers being kidnapped, drugged, raped and even held hostage a few times. Afterwards, she was blamed and shamed by her traffickers. All of these experiences, Erica says, are normal and frequent among women being sexually exploited and sold in Northern Nevada. At age 22, Erica felt worthless and tried to kill herself and ended up in a local hospital.

“I looked out the window and saw a mom at a park playing with her kids. I thought, ‘Why can’t I just be normal like that?’”

A year later, Erica got on her knees and prayed, surrendering everything to God. She said He spoke to her and told her he had the power to help her change. Up until this moment, Erica says she spent her entire life feeling restless, anxious and hateful toward the world. Through God, Erica says she has learned how to be a good mom again.

Erica was hired by Awaken in 2019 to work as the Drop-in Center coordinator in order to help heal other women and help them escape from a life of sex trafficking.

“I am very grateful. It feels so good. I don’t have to come here and change who I am. I’ve never met a more supportive group of people in my life.”

She said this is truly her dream job and a privilege she doesn’t take lightly.

“Sometimes it’s heartbreaking when they don’t want help yet or they aren’t ready. But I couldn’t work anywhere else.”

Since Awaken was founded in 2011, it has reached more than 700 women and children in the Northern Nevada community. Awaken’s mission is to increase awareness and education surrounding the issue of commercial sexual exploitation and to provide housing and restoration for its victims.