Tianna’s Story
May 11, 2023
Tianna's Story
Tianna’s survival story starts ten years ago, at the same time Awaken director Melissa Holland founded the nonprofit organization dedicated to eradicating commercial sexual exploitation. Tianna, now 44 years old, was the first survivor that Awaken worked with, starting with a court-ordered therapy group for women who had received citations for solicitation.
“I didn’t like the group at first, but then Melissa took over and she was so refreshing. We were all shocked that someone really cared and was actually listening to us. I had never had anyone be so nice to me.”
Tianna’s childhood was abusive, and she was surrounded by addiction and abandonment. She says today she still suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from the abuse she suffered, and it led her toward a destructive lifestyle starting when she was a young teenager.
“I was never loved or cared for. I went back and forth between family members, but I never felt wanted.”
A severe drug addiction and an abusive husband left Tianna homeless in her mid-20’s, and she eventually met a pimp who introduced her to a new lifestyle. She says she knew that selling herself for money would be frowned upon, but she got through the experience by turning off her emotions and numbing herself with alcohol and drugs just to survive.
“It’s demoralizing. But if you’re numb enough, you can forget all of it. All of us are homeless, sad, broken living day to day. When you’re out there, it’s all on you. There were literally no resources to help us until Awaken.”
Tianna hasn’t sold her body in five years, and she’s committed to her recovery. While she still struggles with mental health issues and difficulty finding work to make a steady income, Awaken is the one thing that keeps her moving forward. Tianna believes the work of Awaken is essential in our community to help other women like her who have been on the streets most of their lives. Many of them don’t have the job skills, the confidence or the freedom to seek a different option.
“It’s really something that no one wants to address. Everyone looked down on me before, treated me like dirt. We need to bring awareness to people. That’s where it starts. Prostitution is frowned upon, but it’s also accepted in some ways, and it’s legal here. Think about your daughters, your sisters, your neighbors.”
Tianna says Awaken saved her from continuing a dangerous lifestyle, and she brings other women into the doors to help them escape too. She hopes one day she will fully heal from her experiences and trauma, but in the meantime, Awaken is her family.
“My life is still a chaotic mess. I still struggle. I’ve lived on the streets my whole life and it’s hard to change. But Awaken is my heart.”
“Prevention is so important for girls who have been degraded, walked on, stomped on and discarded. These girls are just babies who want love. When someone gives them attention, they are in. I think if someone would have reached out a hand to me and held it, it would have been nice.”...
“I sacrificed parts of myself that I didn’t want to because I thought I was in a safe environment. It was all very hush-hush in the club. The dancers all say they don’t do it, but I’m pretty sure everyone was involved in this. We had a lot of shame about it and so we didn’t talk about it.”...
“She said ‘we gotta do what we gotta do.’ I was afraid to be homeless and have to sleep outside in the freezing cold. I’ve been trafficked by three women. At first I thought they were my friends and would take care of me. But the female pimps I have had have been more aggressive than the men.”...
“If you gave the manager a cut of what you were making, they would turn a blind eye. Strip club is basically a cover name for a brothel.”...
"If Awaken wasn’t here, I don’t know what I would do. Where would I be? Ever since the trafficking, it has stuck with me. It effects how I view myself and how other people treat me. You can’t undo what has been done to you."...
Annie now sells insurance, pays her own rent, and proudly mothers her three resilient daughters who also play sports and get straight A’s. Annie says Awaken helped her finally break her damaging life cycle.
“They didn’t shame me or guilt me or make me feel bad about my life choices. They intervened and were a support system for me. To thank them, I stay on the right path. The best way I can give back is by telling my story.”
aterina is proud of herself for the first time ever in her 27 years of life. She recently went back to school and earned her GED and she’s taking college classes in order to become an HVAC technician. It’s also the first time in as long as she can remember that she doesn’t owe anyone anything—not money, not sex and not drugs. In November of 2020, Katerina became the very first graduate of Awaken’s restorative housing program designed to help sex trafficking victims recover and reclaim their lives.
“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?’”...
Angela’s childhood was extremely hard. She was surrounded by drug addiction, alcohol abuse and prostitution from a young age. And when she was just 19, she was devastated when she found her mother’s dead body on their living room couch.
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Awaken has May of 2021 marks ten years since Awaken began transforming lives in our community, working to eradicate commercial sexual exploitation and...
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Awaken recognizes, honors and celebrates Juneteenth, celebrating the commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. We also realize the work is far from over. Sadly, we have an up-close look at how women and girls of color are still targeted as victims in the commercial sex trade both nationally and in our own community. The commercial sex trade, also known as Modern Day Slavery is highly gendered, causing a disproportionate amount of harm to women and girls. Modern day slavery also has strong racial biases disproportionally subjecting minority women and girls to sexual and physical violence and acts of racism. BLACK GIRLS ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY AT-RISK Studies report that Black girls become trafficked at younger ages compared to their racial counterparts. They are more likely to experience poverty, and consequently more likely to be disconnected from schools and other community supports. According to the FBI, Black children comprise 53% of all juvenile prostitution arrests—more than any other racial group. Even in communities where a small percentage of the population is Black, Black girls are disproportionately trafficked. At Awaken, 48% of our participants report as a woman or girl of color: 13% or our participants identify as Black. However, in Washoe County just 2.8% of the population reports as Black. This discrepancy shows just how disproportionate women and girls of color are being targeted for sexual exploitation in our community. One participant who wishes to remain anonymous, was brave enough to describe the racism and exploitation she experienced as a woman of color inside one of Nevada’s brothels. “I was humiliated when a staff member at the brothel told me to go to my room when certain racist men would enter the brothel so they wouldn’t have to see me. I can’t count the number of times I was called a big nigger. One client told me I was an old black horse that needed to be put down. Once a brothel staff member told me he wanted me to dress up like a slave and do a photo shoot with a man dressed in KKK attire standing above me. I faced racism like this on a regular basis during my 10 years on and off in the brothels.” Awaken stands in solidarity with women and girls of color, recognizing the harms that have been coming to them for generations, and unfortunately continue to come to them in the form of Modern Day Slavery right here in our own community. At Awaken, we stand against racism and we stand against hate. We believe everyone deserves to be free, especially from Modern Day Slavery.
We Need to Discuss the Intersection of Racism and Human Trafficking
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