From Dependence to Freedom: Sienna's Story
17 year old, Sienna, was abused by her father on a regular basis. One day, Sienna gained the courage to report the abuse. When she reported the abuse, her mother kicked her out of the house, leaving Sienna to figure out life on her own. After couch surfing for months, she met a man who offered her a place to stay and bought her new clothes.
After a month he told her she needed to pay him back. With no resources, he said he wanted her to start working for him and introduced her to backpage.com, the website responsible for 73 percent of cases of suspected child sex trafficking in the U.S.
When she was referred to Mcmahon Ryan's Child Advocacy Center's trafficking program, an advocate was assigned to connect her to valuable resources. It took months but Sienna's advocate was able to walk alongside her, building a trusting relationship. Through many up and downs this year, Sienna is now in her own apartment, working on educational goals by taking GED classes and has a part-time job. The advocate continues working to empower Sienna through case management and building a strong relationship of trust.
Mcmahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Center offers a victim centered, trauma informed approach to working with victims and survivors of human trafficking. They offer case management coordination and advocacy to potential commercially sexually exploited youth. They help youth access emergency shelter, medical care, mental health counseling, and financial assistance as well as address other safety needs while working with county-wide agencies. They provide accompaniment to court, medical appointments and other essential appointments that will help them on their path to healing and freedom of exploitation. We are proud to partner with Mcmahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Center and support their life-saving work.