We celebrated three survivors served by One Purse by giving each woman the inaugural Freedom to Dream award at our Freedom to Dream: The Sky’s the Limit event! The awards were in recognition of their outstanding accomplishments and in honor of the ways they inspire other survivors to persevere with grace, embrace freedom, and keep dreaming big dreams for the future!
The award recipients also participated in a panel discussion and shared how vulnerabilities can result in re-exploitation. Up to 80% of survivors are at risk of re-exploitation and One Purse serves to close that gap through Employment and Education.
Megan
A survivor in every sense of the word, Megan has not only overcome being trafficked in her teens and early twenties, but she has also survived brain cancer. She experienced multiple seasons of relapse and re-exploitation before finally surrendering and beginning her journey to self-love and healing. She has earned an Associate of Arts degree at Seminole State, completed a bible-based mental health coaching program and is finishing her application with the State of Florida to become a Recovery Peer Support Specialist. She is a valued leader in the survivor community and is using her story of resiliency to walk alongside others to help them experience hope and freedom. She was the first employee in The rePURPOSE Project work-therapy program and was recently promoted to a staff position as Supervisor of The rePURPOSE Project.
Sabrina
Recruited at the mall at age 13, Sabrina was not aware that she was being groomed for trafficking/exploitation. Under threat and fear, Sabrina was coerced into doing what was asked of her, all while keeping it hidden from her friends and family. Before entering high school, she became pregnant by her exploiter and this offered her a way out, and she exchanged her childhood for motherhood. In 2012, Sabrina married her husband Jose, and together they have seven daughters. She completed a Bachelor’s in Applied Management from Grand Canyon University and works as a Team Coordinator in the anti-trafficking field, offering hope and courage to other survivors.
Jessa
Jessa uses her childhood experience of severe abuse and exploitation to illustrate both the stark realities of trafficking and the truth that healing transformation is possible. After her escape and recovery process, Jessa went to school and holds an MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Denver Seminary and is working on her PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision. Jessa inspires others through speaking engagements around the world, gives hope through mentoring other survivors of human trafficking, and provides high quality training and consultation services to both NGO’s and government agencies.