Blair's Survivor Story

Name has been changed to protect the victim

Blair was a cheerleader. She made honor roll. On the outside, Blair seemed perfect.

But at home, she was struggling.

Blair grew up in a hectic household. She was raised by a single mother, and her father was in prison. The absence of her father, for much of her life, left a hole in her heart.

“I thought my dad didn’t want me.”

At age 13, Blair was introduced to marijuana and alcohol. She would use these recreationally, at parties or friend’s houses. At 16, she was introduced to methamphetamines.

Quickly, Blair went from being an A-student and athlete to quitting everything and skipping school. The drugs ruled her, and it was a brutal downward slope.

At age 17, Blair got pregnant. She immediately quit all the drugs and partying to protect her baby.

After her son was born, she was juggling school and motherhood. Despite all odds, she graduated high school and enrolled in college. She was driven to succeed, for her son.

She left her son safe at home with family to begin college in her hometown. During her college years, Blair wanted to socialize and have fun, but being in the party scene again, she ultimately relapsed and started using meth again. And this time, it became an even stronger choke-hold.

At age 19, she worked part-time but did not have any money to support her growing drug habit. So, she was already becoming vulnerable to someone taking advantage of her desperation for a fix.

One night, she was hanging out with some friends, and a guy named Clay noticed her. He asked for her number and showed interest in getting to know her more. Blair said he was very nice, attractive, and just a normal looking guy.

He started texting her, flirting, and gaining her trust. Clay eventually asked Blair to send him some provocative pictures of her. He offered her money and drugs for these pictures. So she did.

They progressed to hanging out in person. One night, Blair needed a ride home and called him, and he said he would arrange something and get back to her. He called her back and said that his “friend” would pick her up instead. She didn’t think anything of it. Then he asked, “Oh and do you mind if I send him some pictures of you?”

She thought it was odd, but did not think much of that either, and said that was fine with her.

The young man picked up Blair and took her to his place with the expectation of sleeping with her. This was all confusing to Blair, as she thought it was a friend of Clay. Feeling pressured by this guy, she did.

The situation with Clay escalated. He started getting more photos of Blair in exchange for money or drugs, and selling off pictures of her, and eventually, setting her up with more men, for which he earned money.

Blair said about the experience, “I was molested at 12 years old. I guess after that time I felt worthless anyway, so I allowed myself to be used for sex, to be sold for sex. Clay always made sure I had enough money and drugs, so I did whatever he asked.”

Clay continued to use Blair, making her feel guilty when she didn’t want to comply. He would play mind tricks on her, pressure her and make her feel like she owed it to him.

“Come on babe you know you want to do this, I do everything for you,” he would say.

This controlling, manipulative relationship went on for about three years, until finally, Blair was able to escape.

Blair was free, for a while.

But, she was not free from her habit.

Blair was so desperate to continue fulfilling her drug cravings, that she dropped out of college, and ended up on the streets, selling herself.

It was a bleak, dark, and hopeless time.

Blair could not see how valuable she was. She could not see her life was worth so much more than that.

“Sitting in a park one day, I ran into this random guy,” said Blair. “And I think he was an angel.”

He said, “Do you want to do this the rest of your life?”

“I know what you’re doing,” the man said. “We’re going to get you some help. I’m going to call the hospital and get you some help.”

She ended up at the hospital talking with a case manager. The woman noticed that she had been there several times before, and noticed some signs of trafficking. “Are you involved in prostitution?” the case manager asked.

“If I tell you, I don’t want to get in trouble.” Blair responded.

Blair recounts that no one had ever had the courage to ask her that question.

The case manager said, “Well, do you have a substance abuse issue?”

“Yeah,” she told her, and Blair had a pending drug charge.

“I have a couple places you can go. One is Alabama. It’s called The WellHouse,” the case manager said. The case manager explained it would take a few weeks to get approval from the judge assigned to her case for her to be allowed to go.

Blair did an intake interview with The WellHouse. A few weeks later, the case manager called her back. She let Blair know the judge approved her to go to The WellHouse. Blair was so relieved, and overjoyed to finally have hope for her future again.

“When I got here, I knew this is where I was supposed to be,” Blair said. “I knew, I’m going to stay here. I’m going to stick this out.” Blair said that once she sets her mind on something, she sticks to it.

By the time she was seven months into the program, her court order was lifted and she was cleared of all charges! The judge said to her, “Just focus on your sobriety. We want what’s best for you.”

Eventually, she got her license back, too.

During the WellHouse program, Blair was really changed by the addiction recovery classes offered. She says, “They taught be about sobriety, but they really taught me how to love myself again.”

Today, Blair is clean.

Blair graduated from The WellHouse program. She has taken the hard steps toward healing from sexual exploitation, and now, she is back in college and working toward a degree in journalism.

She hopes to regain custody of her son and is working toward that goal.

“I talk to my son every Saturday,” she said. They love to FaceTime together.

She has reconciled with her entire family, even her dad.

“I thought my dad would be mad at me for the rest of my life,” she said.

“I never thought I’d be so close to my family again. It is beyond words.”

Most importantly of all, Blair grew in a personal and intimate relationship with Jesus.

“The WellHouse has helped me establish and maintain a relationship with Christ,” said Blair. “Being here has allowed me time to myself to become closer with Jesus and learn to walk in His ways, not my own. It’s been a real place of refuge.”