Candace experienced chaos in her life from an early age. Her mother was engaged in illegal activities and in a relationship with a convicted sex offender. At just eight years old, Candace was taken from her mother and placed in the foster care system.
She was still in the foster care system seven years later, when she was first trafficked at age 15. That same year, she was convicted of assault and sent to juvenile detention, where she stayed until she was 17 and then was moved to an adult jail. She was 18 when she was finally released.
Upon release, with nothing to her name and nowhere to go, Candace felt she had no other option but to trade sex to survive.
“I got into the life because I was discharged from the foster care system and jail. I had nowhere to stay and nothing in my possession. I needed to get a safe place to stay and food plus clothes on my back.” - Candace
Shortly after turning to survival sex to make ends meet, she met a man who would end up being her trafficker and abuser.
Over the next several years, Candace left and returned to the sex trade many times. She knew it wasn’t for her—but also suffered from feelings of hopelessness and self-doubt that kept her trapped in the cycle. “I felt like I could do better, and I was the worst woman on earth,” she explained, “I almost died from a [sex buyer], and I thought I was better off dead.”
Then, Candace had her first child. “I figured out what love was when I had my daughter,” she told us.
That love was quickly met with heartbreak when Child Protective Services (CPS) took Candace’s daughter into custody. She knew change was needed—and she was ready to fight for her daughter.
Around the same time, Candace met a woman at her church who had the idea to start a house for survivors of the sex trade—Amanda Hightower. Candace became the first resident at the REST House.
“REST helped me with my journey with my first daughter and CPS case. I moved into their house and they helped me with a job. I was supported by a lot of groups and therapy that I needed and wanted.” - Candace
Today, ten years later, Candace is out of the sex trade. She has three beautiful children, and one on the way with her fiance—a man who loves and respects her. She has stable housing and stable income. She fights tenaciously—for both herself and her children—for the life free from exploitation that she knows they deserve.
“Now that I am out of the life and I have been able to live life the way that I have always wanted, I feel as if I am loved more than I should be because of my past, but I also feel as if I should be loved for who I am not for what I do for people.” - Candace
Candace was one of REST’s first clients—and since those early days in 2009, REST has engaged with over 2,500 victims and survivors of sexual exploitation.
As we celebrate 10 years of freedom, safety, and hope for survivors like Candace—would you give to sustain the next 10?
We always give survivors who courageously share their stories the opportunity to choose how they want to be represented. Candace chose to share her real name and photo with you. Read more about our commitment to ethical storytelling in our latest Annual Report.