Whitney Taylor

I've been working in the anti-trafficking field since 2019, and I also have about four and a half to five years of experience in substance use, though I'm more geared towards anti-trafficking and like to shed light on how they intersect. I volunteer with Reclaim 611, where I assist on sting operations with law enforcement to ensure that survivors are not re-traumatized and punished like they used to be. Since trafficking has become such a buzzword, law enforcement is finally seeing it for what it is - because nobody wakes up one day and decides to be a prostitute. There's always grooming involved, and I've never met a woman in the sex industry who wasn't molested or experienced something of that nature in their childhood. One of my favorite things to do is educate medical professionals, because almost always a survivor will come in contact with EMS, police, or the emergency room. We're talking about women who don't have access to healthcare, don't have insurance, don't have ID. Our trainings are the only HHS-approved trainings for people to get their CEUs. I'm also a patient advocate at Real Options pregnancy center, which has three locations in the DFW area - one in Melissa, one in Allen, and the Dream Center in South Dallas. I get to be there for women on what could be the worst day of their lives, whether they're not expecting to be pregnant, don't want to be pregnant, or are dealing with pregnancy loss. I've had four ectopic pregnancies and was pregnant eight times - my daughter was the only one who made it - so I know what that feels like and can sit in that with them. I'm currently going back to school at Collin Community College for social work to better serve trafficking survivors from a clinical aspect. This is my first semester, and it took me forever to even get the courage to see if it was for me, because I didn't think I belonged there or could do it. I'm a survivor myself - most of my body has track marks on it because I was on heroin and was trafficked. Getting sober and unlearning all the things that were said to me when I was in that lifestyle has been a journey, but I'm an example of what God can do every day.