Elizabeth learned to take care of herself at a very young age. Her biological father was never really present in her life, and although her mother was physically present, addiction consumed her time and energy, leaving little room for care. When Elizabeth was six, she found her mother dead from a heroin overdose. She still remembers that day with painful clarity, seeing her in the house and understanding that she was gone. That moment quietly reshaped her life.

From the outside, most would judge Sarah instantly upon meeting her. At 27 years old, she was extremely ill, addicted to heroin and crack and exchanging sex for money to continue to fund her drug use and housing needs. Nevertheless, when we met Sarah, we didn’t judge. We took her into our clinic and provided her with medical care and treated things like asthma, pneumonia, sexually transmitted infections, and various injuries without expecting anything in return. For the first time for as long as she could remember, Sarah was provided with a safe space, a relationship that was not transactional. One that gave freely, demanding nothing of her. Over time, through that relationship, we built trust. She began to open up more about her life and learned that the reality of her story was much more harrowing than it appeared.

We met Rachel at a very dark time in her life. In order to have a roof over her head, Rachel was living in a basement with her abusive and exploitative boyfriend. Her only source of income came from sexual exploitation where men would contact her through online ads, meet with her, and exchange sex for money or other things of value, money that then paid to sustain her crack addiction.