Latisha's House - Rescuing & Restoring Sex Trafficked Victims

Latisha's House Foundation is a 501(c)3 that provides a Safe House for Victims of Sex Trafficking with the following services: Trauma Counseling, Life Skills ​& Life Coaching, Emergency Medical, Dental, & Psychiatric, and GED Tutoring & Education. Latisha's House is a 501(c)3-non-profit dedicated to helping women and girls trapped in negative circumstances or exploited by the sex industry find their way home. Once safe, the girls acquire the tools to live a healthy and productive life. The sex industry has many components and is tied to slavery all around the world. Regardless of whether entrapment is the lure of a fast buck in a strip club, the money from prostitution by force or by choice, or tied to gangs or organized crime, the sex industry objectifies women and girls and destroys their lives. Drug addiction, STDs, and abuse, and criminal convictions are compounding factors that make it hard if not impossible to escape. But, there is hope! With a safe place to stay, medical help, psychological and spiritual counseling, education, and job training women can begin again. Latisha's House Foundation Inc., is a Christ-centered organization that seeks to build safe houses for women all over the United States. Who is Latisha? What is Latisha's House Foundation? Years ago I traveled to Chicago with a teenage youth group, my son and daughter were members. We fed the homeless, gave food and water to prostitutes on 100 plus degree days, and offered assistance with the mentoring of the local Dream Center, or organization in Los Angeles and Chicago that helps men and women on the street. Latisha was a young girl (or so we thought). She weighed about 80 pounds, had a sweet smile, and looked like a child or pre-teen. Latisha was drawn to the warmth and the smiles, and took the food gladly. On our third chance encounter with her she was on the street with her pimp late at night. She ran over to us. The Dream Center counselor said she could come with us if she was willing to change her life. She said she was, and we scooped her up. As we drove to a safe house, Latisha told us she was 25 years old, was HIV positive, had been raped, charged with assault, and hated being on the street. She had been on the street since she was 12 years old. She said that no one cared if she lived or died because she was invisible. She literally was with no identification, address, education, or social security card. All her personal items had been taken years ago. She and the other girls were forced to turn tricks, were beaten if they kept the money, and had to depend on their pimps for any clothing, food, or shelter. Latisha described a life that was filled with fear, the threat of assaults or getting arrested, being hungry, too hot or cold, and without anyone on earth who even knew who she was. We arrived at a safe house, where a large woman with a kind face took this bony girl (age 25) into her arms and said, "Welcome home, Latisha, Welcome home." Her journey to healing was just beginning. Latisha is just one girl-- a former runaway--who sought a better life in the street and was trapped in a destructive lifestyle. The idea for a Latisha's House was born in Chicago, and finally becoming a reality.