There was a time when I believed healing should move faster.

Not because I lacked compassion—but because I didn’t yet understand the depth of what survivors are carrying. I thought that with safety, support, and opportunity, women would naturally be ready to move forward within a reasonable timeline. A few months. A clear plan. A visible sense of “next.”

It’s often something small.

A woman finishes a piece she’s been working on—slowly, carefully, learning each step with her hands. A leather bag. A woven textile. Something useful. Something beautiful. She turns it over, checks the stitching, and for a moment, her shoulders lift just a little.

Someone notices.

The question often comes quietly.

It doesn’t arrive all at once, and it rarely sounds dramatic. It comes during a conversation near the end of a woman’s time with us, when the urgency of rescue has settled and the reality of what comes next begins to surface.

Who am I now?

She stood in our classroom holding a pencil for the first time.

Not unsure. Not embarrassed. Just still.

The room was quiet, the kind of quiet that happens when someone is doing something brave. A chalkboard wall stretched across one side of the space, covered with letters written by other women—some careful and practiced, others uneven and tentative. When she lifted her hand and made her first marks, no one rushed her. No one corrected her. We simply stayed.

She stands quietly in our clothing closet, her youngest on her hip, the other two close enough to touch her legs. The room is small and warm, shelves lined with folded jeans and soft shirts, shoes in careful rows along the wall. Nothing about the space is dramatic. And yet, this moment matters more than most people will ever know.

Every January, conversations about human trafficking surge. We share posts. We learn statistics. We remind one another that this is happening closer than we think.

Awareness matters. But it has never been enough.

As the CEO of a nonprofit dedicated to rescuing and restoring victims of human trafficking, I have witnessed how societal and political shifts influence criminal activity. As we approach the establishment of a new U.S. President, I believe we are on the brink of a significant surge in trafficking activity.