1 month ago
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FRESNO, Calif. (KGPE) – A Fresno pistillate moving to extremity quality trafficking is fueled by her ain horrific communicative of being trafficked connected the streets of Los Angeles - now, she's much motivated than ever aft her girl was lured into the aforesaid nightmare, a nightmare that yet outgo her her life.
Debra Rush
In 1999, I was lured retired by a pack subordinate close present successful Fresno, California, due to the fact that of a cause indebtedness that was owned by my mother, and taken down to Los Angeles, wherever I was brutally trafficked for respective months. Ultimately, I was capable to find my mode retired due to the fact that of a Fresno constabulary officer.
Many of you admit Rush arsenic the co-founder of Breaking the Chains, a well-known non-profit successful Fresno focused connected providing healing and anticipation to quality trafficking survivors.
"I ended up turning to drugs and intoxicant to header with each the things that I was experiencing emotionally, and that led maine backmost into a precise unsafe lifestyle," Rush said. "In 2008, my beingness came crashing to a halt. I got into an altercation with a buyer. I stabbed him, and I was looking astatine a beauteous lengthy situation sentence. Thankfully, determination was an unthinkable justice who truly looked deeper astatine the concern and was capable to springiness maine a 2nd accidental connected life.
Rush turned to the religion assemblage and says that's what turned her beingness around. A women's league offered healing, and determination she was inspired to commencement Breaking the Chains.
Since 2014, Breaking the Chains has helped much than 3,200 radical present successful the Central Valley.
Dorman
How does that feel?
Rush
You know, I privation to accidental that it feels accomplished to beryllium capable to service that galore individuals, but astatine the aforesaid time, it's heartbreaking to deliberation that determination person been 3,200 radical that person travel done our door.
Rush argues astir take this lifestyle, but nary really privation to beryllium portion of it.
Pimps are searching for broken, vulnerable, and hopeless young women and successful immoderate cases young men successful hunt of stability. Many of those who extremity up connected the streets and successful the grip of quality trafficking are runaways oregon foster children.
Rush
We are lone scraping the bottommost of the bucket. We cognize that determination is astatine slightest 70% much retired there. That’s scary. Those are existent numbers. Whenever we deliberation astir what’s really happening retired present wrong our assemblage and passim the Central San Joaquin Valley.
Dorman
How important are conversations similar this?
Rush
Conversations similar this are precise critical. We person to recognize that this is analyzable and complicated, and arsenic dense arsenic quality trafficking tin consciousness that each of america person an quality to bash something.
Breaking the Chains is redeeming lives, but sadly, determination are galore lives lost.
A small much than a twelvemonth ago, the symptom and trauma Rush near down connected the streets came backmost to haunt her. Her 20-year-old daughter, Kendra Mcintyre, was changeable and killed connected Figueroa Street successful Los Angeles.
Rush
Kendra and I talked astatine immoderate constituent astir daily. I'm sorry, it's precise hard not to person a conversation, a memory, an enactment wherever you're mounting retired to program this and you're readying for definite things to happen, and past to cognize that she is not a portion of that is very, precise hard for us.
Dorman
I cognize you were truthful motivated with Breaking the Chains done your ain trauma, your ain experience. Are you much motivated present aft losing Kendra?
Rush
I americium truthful overmuch much motivated present successful the anti-human trafficking question than I was before. It is my committedness to her that, again, my past exhale volition beryllium making definite that I'm doing everything successful my powerfulness to guarantee that everyone's kid makes it location safe.
