“When I started to work here, I started to talk to our staff about their passions and aspirations. A lot of our people come from different backgrounds and come with different barriers, but they all wanted to build careers and be self-sufficient. So my biggest personal goal when I took on my role here was to expand that scope for survivors. 

In Ohio, 2,900 people are trafficked annually. But in order to successfully leave those dynamics and build a new life, survivors need a reduction in employment barriers and representation of survivors in multiple fields. 

One thing we see a lot in recovery is that the trauma they’ve experienced is insidious. They’ve escaped their old circumstances, but they’re often like, ‘Wait a minute. I feel the same, but things look different… I have money, but I feel the same.’ So what we see is that survivors do a lot of different things to feel safe after their escape, and sometimes those things work against them. Like they’re afraid of using public transportation, but they have to use the bus in order to get to their job. 

Being able to address trauma and mental health, and a lot of times the physical health challenges that come with trafficking, that takes a community – that takes a whole network of people. And being able to be supported by your employment and know that you have a job, and you have people at work that care about you, we see firsthand that it changes lives. 

My really big hope is that employers become more open to hiring people with different backgrounds and work with those people to make jobs more accessible. 

It’s about removing that lens of judgment. You’re not always going to understand what somebody has gone through, but it’s about being able to let them know that you can be somebody that’s going to support them, and show empathy for them.”

Lindsey Kreamer is a Workforce Development Specialist for Freedom a la Cart, which empowers survivors of sex trafficking and exploitation to build lives of freedom and self-sufficiency. We believe that breaking down employment barriers is vital for creating a pathway to freedom. So, we’ve created a safe place of restoration where survivors can heal, learn and grow as they prepare for sustainable employment, gain personal independence and reintegrate into our community.