Kayla's Story

It was trust that opened the door for Kayla* to start rebuilding her life.?

Having faced unimaginable challenges throughout her young life, she had reached a point of despair. Hospitalized after a suicide attempt, she disclosed that she had been sexually exploited. Victims Services offered to connect her to the YMCA’s Combatting Abuse and Sexual Exploitation (CASE) team, but it was only when she was forced to leave a shelter because of severe mental health and addiction issues that she agreed to meet.

The CASE team started by building trust and rapport. “Yes, we were there to connect Kayla to services,” says Candace, a Program Manager at the Y. “But our role is also to walk alongside her and to guide her to independence without judgment or hesitation.”

The CASE team provided practical and emotional support and encouraged Kayla’s growing confidence and determination. Within six months, she had steady employment, had re-enrolled in school, and had maintained her sobriety.

That’s not to say the road was easy for Kayla. The pandemic brought increased isolation, the loss of a close friend to an overdose, and the inability to work. “We got creative to keep a meaningful connection,” says Candace. “We went on virtual walks together and cooked together virtually from our own homes (one of her family recipes has become a staple of mine).”

Candace was cheering in the audience when Kayla, the valedictorian of her class, graduated from high school. Candace and the CASE team at the YMCA are still here for Kayla, mostly as a safe team rooting for her.

“To say that we are proud of Kayla would be an understatement,” says Candace. “She is an amazing human, someone who deserved a chance to be seen, someone who has so much offer to.”

*To protect her privacy we are not using her real name or image.?

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