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Rebekah, A Survivor’s Story

January 31, 2019

Thankfully, Rebekah hasn’t lived with her mom for several years, but she was at risk of going back. She had been removed once before due to her mom’s drug habit, but what Rebekah didn’t share was during that time she was trafficked as a way to support her mom’s lifestyle.

She was living in a group home while working through her past. Rebekah had been so traumatized by abuse and neglect that she began to believe she deserved the treatment because she was “bad”.

Rebekah was only 14 when she came to Family & Children’s Place to disclose what happened. When she first arrived, she felt a lot of emotions: nervous because she thought we wouldn’t believe her since she didn’t disclose right away, guilt because she felt that she betrayed her mom, and dread for having to share what happened to her.

When Rebekah lived with her mom, they lived in a trailer in a rural part of Kentucky. As part of her experience, she remembered hearing her mom laughing in another room while she was forced into a dark bedroom with a stranger. She couldn’t identify the men by their faces, only by their voices and how they smelled.

After several sessions with our forensic interviewer, she felt an immense pressure fall from her shoulders. “I didn’t know if you’d believe me, but you did. Thank you.”

Rebekah was able to return to the group home while waiting to go into foster care. She has made huge strides after sharing her story and is now thriving as she prepares for high school in the fall.

She is not the first child Family & Children’s Place has helped to share their story, and she won’t be the last we help keep safe.

 

*Names have been changed to protect the identity of our clients. The photo is a representation of our client and not a real photo.