So many of our young people have experienced unimaginable trauma, over many years. But as shocking as that trauma is, their courage and resilience are so much more inspiring.
Danielle is a good example. By the time she was a teenager, Danielle had already experienced more trauma than most of us could imagine.
She had no home: with her mother and siblings, Danielle lived in an abandoned house in Essex County. Then, at the age of 13, Danielle was raped by her older brother.
When her mother was arrested for criminal trespassing, the Division of Youth and Family Services intervened and placed Danielle into foster care. Danielle’s challenges were beyond what a typical foster care program could address, and she spent the next few years going from residential treatment program to residential treatment program.
In the meantime, Danielle’s mother moved out of state. Wanting to reunite with her family, Danielle left New Jersey to live with her mom. But her mom kicked her out of the house after just two days.
This left Danielle, now 19, homeless and stuck in a state she didn’t know. It also put her at tremendous risk for human traffickers. Believing she had no other options, Danielle went to live with a man she didn’t know very well, who promised her a safe place to stay. Instead of a safe place, Danielle was forced to have sex with him and his roommate in order to stay. There were other girls in the house; Danielle watched them get beaten when they tried to leave.
Working up tremendous courage, Danielle fled the house and returned to New Jersey. Still with no place to stay, she found Covenant House in Newark. Our staff welcomed her and provided her the shelter, services, but most of all, the caring, supportive relationships she had lacked.
And, thanks to the QYIT screening tool Covenant House developed in partnership with Mt. Sinai, our staff was able to identify Danielle as a human trafficking survivor in a respectful way that did not retraumitize her. The QYIT tool asks just five simple questions, validated to indicate human trafficking, that do not require the survivor to disclose painful details of their experiences.
Based on the assessment, Covenant House was able to tailor the services Danielle needed in order to succeed.
Danielle stayed at the Youth Engagement Center for three months, before transitioning to Nancy’s Place in Montclair, where she focused on her mental health needs. Six months later, Danielle was able to move into her own apartment and begin college. Throughout this time, Covenant House remained committed to Danielle, providing the mental health and supportive services to help her continue her journey to healing and independence.
