TYLER, Texas — Many human trafficking survivors face not only the challenge of escape, but also a long road to recovery.
In part two of CBS19's special report, Out of the Darkness, survivor Jane Doe feels free as she continues to heal after she was rescued from years of abuse. Meanwhile, in East Texas as well, there are nonprofits and prosecutors working to help victims reclaim their lives and begin to heal.
After the rescue – rehabilitation begins.
"I had seen a lot of bad (stuff), OK. I'd been through a lot. I didn't trust anybody. I just felt like the world was evil in my eyes at that point, like nothing was good. Nobody was good, everybody was bad," Jane said.
BJ Garrett serves as executive director of Selah Life Choices, a nonprofit that specializes in survivor stabilization.
"There's good days and bad days. There's good minutes and bad minutes. and they're coming from a lot," Garrett said. "And so understanding the trauma that they've come from and that they were very recently in it's a lot."
Garrett understands their trauma first hand.
"I was trafficked by my own mom for as long as I can remember, and right here in Tyler, Texas," Garrett said. "I mean, most of my childhood from earliest memories that I have until I was almost 14."
While Jane never went back after her rescue, Garrett said for others, that was their normal.
"If those that love you most are supposed to love you most, when those are the ones that are selling you and hurting you, it doesn't compute," Garrett said.
Garrett said it can actually take up to 17 attempts for a trafficking victim to be rescued. She added a big reason for that is the lack of stabilization centers.
"The girls, when they come straight from rescue, they're simply not ready for long-term care. So we have to come in and get them stable and secure and grounded and stop the fight or flight," Garrett said.
The first thing they learn to do is name their abuse.
"You learn about trafficking, you learn about what happened to you," Jane said.
Maria Villarreal, Unbound Now East Texas commercially sexually exploited youth advocacy coordinator, said a lot of times victims don't self identify as victims of human trafficking.
"So it's up to us as professionals to listen to them actively, listen and put the pieces together," Villarreal said.
Garrett said the survivors who come to Selah Life Choices receive a full check-up from Bethesda Health Clinic in Tyler and a mental health review from Selah's staff therapist.
Selah also partners with other organizations like Unbound Now East Texas so survivors have a circle of support.
"We can take the victims out to eat, out to events, out to appointments that they need, such as counseling, dental appointments, court hearings, things like that," Villareal said. "We really are there every step of the way, from the moment we get them as as a client."
Having an advocate at court hearings helps bridge the possible broken bridge of trust between survivors and law enforcement.
"There's bad cops out there. They're dirty. They they like this kind of stuff. It gets them off," Jane said.
Her trafficker made the girls follow protocol when cops came to make sure it wasn’t an undercover investigator.
"In the back your mind, I hope it's someone that can help me, and it wasn't," Jane recalled.
Smith County District Attorney Jacob Putman said law enforcement does investigate all allegations of human trafficking, no matter who the perpetrator is.
"(We've) have caught blue collar people, we've caught white collar people, we've caught elected officials. So if we catch law enforcement, they get prosecuted like everybody else," Putman said.
Putman said because of that, his office understands that the legal process of these cases takes time.
"It's really spending enough time with them to show them that there are people that care. There are people who want to help them that don't expect anything from them," Putman said.
Over time, Jane grew to trust those wanting to help her.
"The ones that were actually involved in the whole investigation -- they're amazing," Jane said. "They never gave up on me. They poured their everything into the investigation."
A year later, Jane’s first trafficker was sentenced to life in prison.
"Dekendrick Ross was particularly mean and also very manipulative," Putman said. "The case was a successful prosecution."
Putman said the hardest but most needed piece of evidence is the survivor.
"It was a successful prosecution. One of the things that was unique about that is we were able to get several victims to cooperate and talk to us," Putman said. "So that was really helpful in proving his case and making sure that he got justice."
It's been seven years since Jane was saved from her captors.
"My life is so different now. It's so different," Jane said. "You would ask me back then during the trafficking like, 'could I see myself here now?' No."
Now at 26 years old, Jane is committed overcoming the circumstances of her life.
"I've been sober for many years. I have been doing therapy," Jane said. "I’m a working citizen in the community. I love working."
Jane now has the family she always wanted.
"I have a fiancé. We love our kids," she said. "My kids are my biggest blessing in life. I'm so thankful for them."
Jane turned her pain into purpose - from feeling dead and alone to helping other women and girls.
"I've been able to help, like educate other women or girls with my story and how to get resources and help. This is what I want to do with the rest of my life," she said.
Jane explained the community is blind to the trafficking in East Texas, and that's why she making it her mission to raise awareness.
"It literally happens in every neighborhood. No one thinks it's happening three doors down, but it is," Garrett said.
Jane hopes to connect survivors with the people and organizations that helped her reclaim her life.
"I'm here. I've been through a lot, but I have blessings," Jane said as she rewrites her story from victim to survivor.
Despite her past, simply put Jane says she now feels "free."
If you are in need of any resources or know someone that is struggling to speak up, Selah Life Choices is just one of many nonprofits in East Texas that are extending a helping hand. For more information and how to reach out to Selah, go to its website here.
WATCH PART 1 OF THIS SPECIAL REPORT BELOW:
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