By Holly Smith — From her column in the Elite Daily
My name is Holly Smith, and I am a survivor of child sex trafficking in America.
At age 14, I was a shy, insecure and angry teenager. I had just graduated from eighth grade and I was afraid of starting high school.
I was afraid of getting beat up, I was afraid of never finding a boyfriend and I was afraid of losing my friends. I was depressed and in need of real help and guidance.
I grew up in southern New Jersey, in a town so small that I had known most of my friends since kindergarten. In middle school, my friends and I often hung out at the local mall, and it was at this mall where I met a man who picked me out of the crowd and asked for my phone number.
I felt special that he picked me, and he told me that I was special when we talked on the phone. He said I was too mature for high school, that I was pretty enough to be a model, and that he could introduce me to famous musicians to help me become a songwriter. As a kid who grew up on MTV, this was my dream.
After we talked on the phone for about two weeks, this man suggested that I run away from home with him. And I did. Within hours of running away, I was forced into prostitution and coerced into working on the streets and in the casino hotels of Atlantic City, New Jersey.
The first man to whom I was sold told me that I reminded him of his granddaughter.
Read the rest of the article on the Elite Daily website
Hello,
Our names are Maribel ,Gabriella,and Jason, and we are students at Newburgh Free Academy in Newburgh, New York. We are currently working on a project that raises awareness of modern slavery and how people can help to reduce the amount of slavery today. We were wondering if there are any volunteers, workers or even civilians you have helped that have have a first hand experience with this issue and are willing to talk to those who would like to learn more. This can be through formats like Face time or they can come in personally which is more ideal for us because we want to create an experience that will cause thought and action on the issue.
Please contact us at your earliest convenience.
Here is some of our contact information
Gabriella Estrada – gestrada.ptech@gmail.com Student
Maribel Ramos-mramos.ptech@gmail.com Student
Jason Solis – jsolis.ptech@gmail.com Student
Jacqueline Hesse – jhesse.ptech@gmail.com Teacher
We look forward to hearing from you.
Maribel Ramos
Gabriella Estrada
Jason Solis
Hello all,
Please fill out the contact form on this site and my booking agent will reach out to you to arrange an opportunity for us to work together.
Thank you.
Holly