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Out of the Darkness and into the Light
A team of therapists from Unlikely Heroes brings hope and healing to victims of sex trafficking in the Philippines
Sarah is a 14-year-old girl with bright eyes and a shy smile. Even though she loves dancing and telling jokes, she’s not a typical teenager. Sarah’s mother has no source of income, and because of this, sent her daughter to waitress in a bar for less than $1 a day. However, when Sarah started to work, she quickly realized that her job was not to serve drinks. It was to have sex with men for money.
After suffering abuse at the hands of her boss and other customers, and a near-escape that resulted in Sarah being returned to the bar, she found herself homeless, terrified of men, and plagued with nightmares. Then, Unlikely Heroes stepped in.
In November 2011 this non-profit organization based out of Los Angeles sent a team to the Philippines to rescue child victims of sex slavery. They opened a restoration home in a remote location to ensure safety for the girls who arrived, girls who were both relieved and scared to embark on a new chance at happiness.
Sarah was one of those girls.
The home has become an oasis of hope and healing. According to local officials, Unlikely Heroes is one of the first organizations to provide any type of support services to child victims of sex slavery in this area in the Philippines.
While the home itself is a place of healing simply by its very existence as a haven protecting children from a life of prostitution, Unlikely Heroes recognized the necessity of giving these children training for how to cope with their feelings, as well as skills to continue the healing process on their own. In March 2012, Unlikely Heroes sent a team of three licensed therapists and five lay counselors, all from the United States, to provide the girls living in the restoration home with clinically sound therapy.
In order to protect the privacy of the restoration home, and because of the danger in the area, Unlikely Heroes moved the residents to a home in a secure city—Davao, Philippines—for the weeklong therapy session.
On the first night of the stay, Unlikely Heroes president and founder Erica Greve, who holds a Master’s in Social Work from UC Berkeley, told one of the girls that she was beautiful. It was such a simple statement, but one that affected the girl so profoundly, she didn’t sleep a wink that night. She was awake, relishing the thought that someone found her to be beautiful. No one had ever said those words to her before.
The team of therapists guided the girls through fun and uplifting exercises aimed at helping them heal from the trauma in their past. These exercises included one‐on-one counseling sessions, therapeutic training, and art therapy. Erica and her team—which included Beth Hoff (Master’s in Clinical Counseling, Ashland Theological Seminary) and Lauren Witt (B.A. in Communication Management, emphasis on relational communication, Cleveland State University)—introduced the girls to finger-painting, explaining how art is therapeutic for the soul.
As the girls painted pictures that represented their past, present, and future, they said that this was the first time they’d ever finger-‐-‐-‐painted. Despite this, the girls showed they were natural artists. They sat quietly as worship music played, expressing all the feelings and emotions in their hearts through the powerful paintings.
The girls also made collages of what their futures could be as a way to help them begin to connect with positive emotions about their life. More importantly, this exercise helped them start to dream about a life with a happy, healthy future.
During the trip, Erica also met with local anti-human trafficking organizations to discuss ways to get the girls into education programs, as well as get them trade skills. The team finalized solutions to help the girls get the education and job skills they need so that they’ll be employable in a region where jobs are often difficult to find.
Before leaving, the Unlikely Heroes team gave each girl a necklace, and told her what was special and unique about her. One girl beautifully summed up the gift’s meaning: “Before, my life had no direction. But now I can see that my life has direction, and it's refreshing. I am like a tree in the forest that is very strong. I used to feel like a flower with closed petals. Now, I am like a blooming flower.”
And, remember 14-year-old Sarah? After a week of prayer, counseling, and art, she finally has hope for a future filled with joy. “If Unlikely Heroes had not found me, I don’t know where I would have gone. Now, I don’t have nightmares. Now, I don’t wake up screaming. Now, I have peace.”
Article written by Jessica Dunham
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Analyn's Story
The Unlikely Heroes Team met Analyn in November 2011. THIS IS HER STORY:
As a young child, Analyn was abused by her alcoholic father. Her mother worked in Manila as a maid and was separated from the family. Analyn and her sisters were left to themselves to find food to eat and safety from their father’s beatings. Often they would sleep in the barn to escape his alcoholism and abuse.
She began working in the bars and brothels for food in order to survive. Analyn says she felt like she was living like a stray animal, owning only one pair of clothing and being prostituted for each next meal.
Analyn was so thankful to be rescued by the Unlikely Heroes team in November of 2011. At age 14, she is beginning her first year of high school and has shown great interest in learning computer training and writing skills. She is coming alive within the home and under the care of loving, practicing therapists. For the first time, she is not responsible to find her own meals or shelter and she feels the freedom to dream about her future. After completing her education, Analyn hopes to do mission work on behalf of impoverished and broken families like her own.
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Unlikely Heroes at The Crown Bar
"THERE IS NO CONVENIENT TIME FOR JUSTICE."
Our CEO, Erica Greve, speaks at the Unlikely Heroes Benefit Show at the Crown Bar in Hollywood.
December 8, 2011
Video courtesy TheSweetleilani
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Event Recap - BWDPR Gifting Lounge at the Academy Awards
On February 25, Unlikely Heroes was the featured charity at the BWD Gifting Lounge in celebration of the 84th Academy Awards at Confidential in Beverly Hills. Founder, Erica Greve, along with a small team of volunteers, greeted celebrities inside the elegant Beverly Hills Confidential Suite to share the foundation’s mission of rescuing and restoring children who were previously sold for sex in the USA and internationally.
Adam Rose of Weeds was present, along with Hope Dworaczyk (The Celebrity Apprentice). Kellen Lutz of The Twilight Saga was photographed with Unlikely Heroes founder Erica Greve on the red carpet. Kyle Massey of Disney’s That’s So Raven brought a smiling face to the upbeat event and actresses Lauren C. Mayhew of Raise Your Voice and Nadia Bjorlin of Days of Our Lives were also present.
Lively and purposeful, the event was a huge success in spreading the organization’s vision to see child sex slavery ended worldwide.
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Sex Trafficking in America
by Erica Greve
Experts agree that there are more than 100,000 American children who are currently being sold for sex in neighborhoods across the United States. Despite these high numbers, the IAST reports that fewer than 1,000 victims have received assistance through federal, state and local law enforcement efforts since 2001. The inexcusable truth is that the safe housing, therapeutic treatment and appropriate support services these children need to move out of victimization and into hopeful futures does not currently exist in the United States. The National Report on Domestic Sex Trafficking prepared by Shared Hope International found that, In nine out of ten assessments, there was a lack of protective shelter for child sex trafficking victims. Only five residential facilities specific to this population exist across the country. (Shared Hope International, The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking America Prostituted Children, Arlington, VA: Shared Hope International, 2009, 67.)
Many experts agree that there are fewer than 100 treatment beds to house and rehabilitate the victims of child prostitution nationwide. Presently, most sexually trafficked youth are either returned to the streets or sent to juvenile hall, which often reinforces a victim core beliefs that he/she is a criminal Law enforcement officers report they are often compelled to charge a victim of domestic minor sex trafficking with a delinquency offense in order to detain her in a secured facility to keep her safe from the trafficker/pimp and the trauma-driven response of flight Shared Hope International, The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking America’s Prostituted Children, Arlington, VA: Shared Hope International, 2009,
Human trafficking is a multi-dimensional issue. It is a crime that deprives people of their human rights and freedoms, increases global health risks; fuels growing networks of organized crime, and can sustain levels of poverty. (Trafficking in Persons Report, 2009). Recognizing trafficking as one of the greatest human rights issues of our time, the Department of State has made great efforts to hold other nations accountable for their response to this global problem and to rescue and restore international victims who are brought into the United States. However, very little has been done to advocate for the hundreds of thousands of American children who are victimized through sex trafficking every year within our own country.
The Solution
Experts agree that there is a significant lack of resources for sexually exploited youth nationwide. Child victims are in need of rehabilitation programs, funding and services that will provide them with the therapy, education, housing, safety, life skills and resources they will need to overcome current life obstacles.
Tragically, despite the desperate need for rehabilitation services, there are very few treatment facilities for the victims of children who have been raped for profit in America today. Unlikely Heroes is going to be part of the solution. By partnering with existing residential treatment programs, Unlikely Heroes will raise funds, provide community outreach and support services and build additional residential treatment facilities.
U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division. (2006, February). Report on Activities to Combat Human Trafficking Fiscal Years 2001-2005
U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division. (2006, February)
Report on Activities to Combat Human Trafficking Fiscal Years 2001-2005
