Remember that for sex trafficked individuals, their normal is not our normal, and stable is not always stable. Many youths, teens, and adults who are pulled out of commercial exploitation and human trafficking situations, or who enter programs and are placed in the care of loving and healing situations, do not adjust well. The reason for this is that their brains are conditioned to a state of “normal” that functions best in the traumatic situation they have just been removed from.
The longer someone was in the life (human trafficking, prostitution, addiction, etc.), the more deeply engrained this abnormal/normal reversion becomes in their brains, and the longer it will take to break through those barriers to retrain and find a healthy normal.
Changing the mindset and behavior of an individual who has endured a multitude of traumas does not happen by simply changing his or her environment. We have to understand this from the get–go. This is something that even the most loving care professionals may not understand. Often, creating a new and healthy normal for an individual exiting the life involves much counseling and work to alter his or her bases of understanding.
Building trust doesn’t always come easily. They will test you, but be consistent. Your job is to continue to walk alongside them, building trust, helping them process, assisting them as they recover a healthy normal, and allowing them to express their feelings and discover their true selves. The following tools will help you be an agent of this growth as you continue your relationship with them.
In this photo from the film I Will Rise, the actress is reenacting a moment of time. I’ll never forget my humanity was seen. Needs were met. I’ll never forget Miss Jeannie and Metro Lutheran Ministries and that “drop in center” on McGee in the ’90s. She allowed me to sleep on the floor of her office. It was the most significant amount of love I had experienced. #IWillRise
Contact Information:
Christine C. McDonald
636-487-8986
https://iwillriseproject.com/
“Love your neighbor, all of ’em.” -Christine Clarity McDonald
Through The Eyes of Grace – Christine C McDonald
