Today we’d like to introduce you to Leah Hebert
Hi Leah, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Trafficking can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime… but what makes an individual more vulnerable? They may have experienced sexual abuse in the past. They may be living below the poverty line. They may be experiencing unstable housing or homelessness. They may be feeling abandoned, lonely, or worthless. When you bring all of these vulnerabilities together, you make the perfect target for a trafficker. I experienced all of these as a vulnerable teen and fell prey to an older man who I thought was my boyfriend that would take care of me. Unfortunately, I was naive and he had ulterior motives. I was not aware of my situation at the time, living in an alternate reality created in my mind through manipulation and coercion much of which was blurred by drug use and false promises. This man was later deported for human trafficking and all the women left in his grasp were set free. But not everyone is living in freedom today.
After surviving addiction and exploitation I knew my life had purpose but I was not sure what it was. In the Fall of 2016 I learned all about the grace of God and after receiving God’s grace I was finally able to overcome years of guilt and shame and step into my newfound freedom, ready to help free others. I was asked a simple question “if you had unlimited funds and resources what would you do to change the world?” It was a simple answer for me, I would start a safe house and rehabilitation services for trafficked children in the United States. At that time, I was working on my MBA and added a course for nonprofit management. As I went through the course I was tasked with identifying the need for my desired organization. It was well known trafficking was happening overseas, and it was known that trafficking was happening in the United States, but I needed to verify there was a need for such an organization in San Diego. I began volunteering with an organization to support rescue efforts of missing children in San Diego County that were at-risk of being trafficked. While volunteering on the rescue side it became imperative that rehabilitative services were necessary.
In January of 2017 I officially founded GRACE – Girls Rising Above Child Exploitation. When circumstances at the time did not allow for a safe house, the GRACE Board of Directors decided it would be best to provide mobile support services to youth in need. GRACE partnered with San Diego Youth Services ICARE & STARS programs to provide additional support to their programs. The county provided clinical care and case management but there was so much more needed for restorative services for the youth they served. GRACE began with a weekly therapeutic art program, a safe place to connect and create. From there, the GRACE team realized there was a need for meal and transportation services so GRACE Meals & Wheels began. We soon discovered that many youth did not have the average upbringing to include child-like experiences so we added GRACE Adventures, taking the youth on outings and throwing celebrations. Through building trust with care and consistency the GRACE team was able to identify the unique needs of each individual youth, offering a variety of supportive services meeting each youth where they were at in their healing journey. After 5 years of providing therapeutic and supportive services, the youth were getting older and needing more support for education and employment preparation so we began GRACE University. There is still a need for housing so GRACE partners with Home Start to provide safe, loving host homes to transition-aged youth in need through their Host Homes program. GRACE will continue to adapt program and service offerings to meet the diverse needs of the population we serve.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I have had the honor of walking alongside some incredibly resilient young women over the past 7 years. Even though we have built an amazing team that now run our programs, it always warms my heart when one of the youth reach out to me to let me know they are doing well. They are looking for someone to care and know that I still do and always will. One young lady was processing her trauma in an unhealthy way, often getting into fights at school or during group, we were able to guide her through her healing, and redirect her risky behaviors. We matched her with an Olympic boxer as her mentor and she learned to channel her anger into a positive outcome. She recently reached out to let me know she has been doing great in her disciplinary school, no fights, making all A’s and is allowed to enroll back into high school this year. Another youth came to us at 16, pregnant, with another young child. Having 2 babies before the age of 17 posed a lot of challenges but this young lady was very determined. She attended every group session and allowed us to offer additional parenting resources. We assisted her with CNA school and she is now 21, a mother of 4, working as a CNA while going to college to become a nurse. Healing is not linear and many of the youth we work with stumble several times before making it on their own. One of the first young ladies I worked with called me one evening asking for food and feminine products. She had been trafficked by a family member at a young age and was struggling and knew one way to make money. She called me saying she didn’t want to go on this date but really needed a few things from the store. She had been in and out of programming with her drug addiction and re-exploitation. I prepared a meal for her every group hoping she would come even if I hadn’t heard from her in a while. On this particular evening when I got the call we were celebrating Thanksgiving at group and I had the caterers make sure they had a meal available without any pork in it. They made a meal special for her with a big beautiful bow to set it apart. After group I went to the store to pick up her necessities and deliver them along with the beautifully packaged dinner and let her know she is so loved and so worthy. Through a lot of tears and tough conversation she came back to programming. She later became our first intern to come out of programs and help us create new programs for her peers. She is now going to college and working full time and will be coming back as a volunteer this Fall. Life doesn’t always get easier when our youth leave their trafficker. Sometimes it gets harder. And life doesn’t always get easier once they turn 18. Sometimes it gets harder. We are there to walk beside them through the challenging times and the joyful times.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
At Girls Rising Above Child Exploitation (G.R.A.C.E.) our mission is to support, empower, and provide services to trafficked, exploited, and at risk youth. Our vision is to see the end of child exploitation by raising up advocates in our community who will educate, mentor, and provide therapeutic programming to exploited, trafficked, and at-risk youth. Through our program we hope that every child will realize their worth and value and be given opportunities that will guide, encourage, and inspire them as they choose their path in life.
You’re invited to join me on Nov 16, 2024 for our 6th Annual Rise Above Benefit. This is our big benefit to raise awareness around human trafficking and sexual exploitation, as well as fundraise to meet emergency needs and provide after-school therapeutic programming to our program participants. This event features a silent auction, live art by Tamira Imondi, live musicians, dinner and drinks, as well as an art area that showcases art pieces created by our youth during their weekly therapeutic art program that you can take home. During this event, you will hear powerful testimonies from Kristie Sexton of Stop Traffic Walk/Phoenix Dream Center and different members of our organization and learn more about our vision for the future and how you can be a part of the healing journey for the youth we serve. We can’t wait to see you there!
https://givebutter.com/c/2024RiseAbove
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love San Diego. The weather is perfect most of the year, the scenery is beautiful, there are so many incredible restaurants, and plenty of activities to do. My least favorite thing about San Diego is the traffic.
My favorite thing is to relax with my husband and our son, Levi and to enjoy our beautiful home of San Diego.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://girlsrisingabove.org/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/girlsrisingabove/
