Art helps heal Ohio survivors of human trafficking

Art work from human trafficking survivors hangs at the Columbus restaurant Barcelona in German Village. (Photo by Alan Johnson for the Ohio Capital Journal.)

Drugs and violence entrapped them; art helped set them free.

On a recent summer evening, some survivors of human trafficking gathered in a noisy, crowded restaurant in German Village in Columbus to show their works of art and celebrate liberation from their pasts. 

The art show sponsored by the SOAP Project — Saving Our Adolescents from Prostitution — and Barcelona restaurant featured paintings prominently displayed in spotlights on the brick walls.

The paintings were created by human trafficking survivors and Theresa Flores, SOAP’s executive director, herself a survivor.

Human sex trafficking is by no means new, but it was only made illegal in Ohio in 2011 after Teresa Fedor, then a state lawmaker, fiercely advocated for the measure.

Since then, Ohio has strengthened the law that widely views women and girls forced into prostitution as victims not criminals, a dramatic change from the past. There have been hundreds of arrests and prosecutions under the law.

Human trafficking is traumatic and often results in life-long physical and mental health issues.

Flores said creating art for survivors “is a special component to healing because many survivors don’t have the words to use for the trauma that happened to them. But you have to get it out of you or it festers. When we do our survivor wellness retreats,” Flores said, “art is a big part of it.”

She continued: “So many times survivors will naturally lean to creative things such as painting, drawing, song writing, book writing, jewelry making and so forth to  express what is inside of them. It is therapeutic and cathartic.”

The journey to joy was a long, painful road beginning for Shayla Marshall at the age of six when her father, a wannabe music producer, began offering his four daughters to men as “party favors.”

The horror went on for years in their home in Kalamazoo, MI., until Shayla’s mother moved her family to Columbus — without the girls’ father.

Even then, the juvenile trafficking didn’t stop because Marshall’s father moved to Columbus. It was only when Shayla’s mother armed herself that the abuse stopped.

But soul-tearing damage had been done to the girls.

“I didn’t know how to act like a person,” said Shayla. “I was so ashamed.”

But Shayla slowly recovered after “some deep therapy” and realizing that what happened to her was not her fault. Now 31, she is a registered nurse counseling people with substance abuse issues.

Sister Dee Dee, 41, as she is known in Columbus, was also sexually abused as a child, and as a young teenager lost her older brother to murder.

She became pregnant at 13 but was forced to give up her baby daughter. She eventually turned to a man who groomed her with drugs until he began trafficking her regularly.

“I had no self-esteem,” Sister Dee Dee said. “I was depressed and defeated. Until I found my purpose, I felt like I was nothing.

“I met the wrong guy. He encouraged me to try crack cocaine ‘just once.’ Just once was all it took. Instantly addicted, I ended up on the street. I learned how to prostitute myself to get money for drugs. That’s all I did every day, all day. It’s easy when you’re numb.”

Sister Dee Dee said she spent seven years on the streets, hooked on drugs and selling herself for money.

One day — Aug. 16, 2012,  her “Freedom Date” —  Sister Dee Dee turned to God and decided to change her life, she said.

She received help and support, got sober and underwent treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Today, she operates Life Beyond the Streets, a non-profit group of peer recovery coaches whose goal is “finding freedom for women trapped in a dangerous life on the streets by addiction, homelessness and mental health issues.”

Christina Conrad, a SOAP board member, said art is lifesaving to many survivors “because sometimes there are no words for what they’ve been through and the process of how they’ve overcome.”

Scott Irish, Barcelona guest services manager, said the restaurant became interested in collaborating with SOAP both to help the nonprofit group and as a service to the community.

“I had no clue how prevalent and persuasive human trafficking is,” Irish said. “This sort of opened all our eyes. The people that do this terrible crime know exactly who to prey upon, kids from broken homes, undocumented immigrants, and others who are helpless.”

Shayla and Sister Dee Dee’s paintings, as well of those of others, were sold within 90 minutes.

The proceeds will go to SOAP to fund survivor programs.

The survivor artwork will be on display until Sept. 1 at the restaurant at 263 E. Whittier St. in Columbus.

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