On Top of the Mountain: The Fight Against Sex Trafficking of Minors

Today, approximately 325,000 children are commercially sexually exploited each year in the United States. The average age of these victims? 12-14 years old. Of the 4,000 children and families Olive Crest serves every day, approximately:

• 10% have been entrapped in human sex trafficking,
• Over 50% have been approached, and
• 100% are targeted as high-risk.

Young girls like “Delilah,” who at 15 years old, grew up in a dysfunctional, unstable home, are highly vulnerable. Problems at home caused her to escape the sad realities of her life by regularly running away. While on the streets, she found herself being groomed by a sexual predator for sexual exploitation without even knowing she was being tricked. She thought she could trust the “new friend” she met. But the goal was really to take advantage of her.

Thankfully, Delilah found Olive Crest — a nonprofit dedicated to preventing child abuse by strengthening, equipping, and restoring children and families in crisis “One Life at a Time®” — where she was greeted with the authentic love, care, and support she so desperately wanted.

Luckily, she was able to rewrite her future. But what if she, like hundreds of other sex-trafficked teenage girls, had never found Olive Crest? For young women over 18 years old, who are trapped in the ugliness of human sex trafficking, there are many safe houses and places to go to escape. But minors have nowhere to go, as these safe houses are not trained or licensed to work with them.

In 2012, my husband and I partnered with Bob Ryan, a native of Santa Barbara, who had come across a retreat property for sale, remotely hidden at the top of a mountain. At the time, there were only 511 beds in residential programs specifically designed for victims of sex trafficking.² After many meetings with the owners, we agreed to use the property to address the rescue housing crisis and provide a trauma-informed recovery program on-site. Just like that, Hope Refuge was born. I remember the day they handed us the keys and said “Let’s see what you can do.”

I was excited… and terrified.

And the more time we spent in Santa Barbara, though, the more I realized that it is the perfect place for Hope Refuge. On the surface, Santa Barbara is a reflection of many who live within her boundaries: there’s lavish beauty and freedom, endless stories of success, and the sense that it’s a safe place that “has it all together.” Yet underneath it all, everything is not as it seems.

Success Stories

Restoration and Healing: On a Path to Success

Olive Crest received a call from the local probation department regarding a young girl named Allison who had been arrested and placed in juvenile hall. Realizing that she was a victim of trafficking, she was referred to Hope Refuge Campus, where she could get the appropriate help they knew she needed.

Over the years, she had been exposed to extreme neglect and abuse, constantly moving around with no support system. Allison’s mother was in prison; she did not know who her father was, and no extended family stepped forward to help her.

She had missed so much school that by the time she was 13 years old, she had completely stopped going and had dropped out. She was very defiant and refused to let people get close to her making it difficult for law enforcement to know what she had been exposed to. As is quite common with victims of sex trafficking, Allison was in denial and didn’t admit that she had been trafficked, thinking her life was “normal”.

Once at Hope Refuge, her journey toward healing began. She participated in extensive trauma counseling, started attending onsite schooling, participated in group therapy, began developing healthy relationships and started to learn to trust. It has been amazing to watch her express herself in ways that others can hear her and work with her. She is showing herself to be a
real leader.

Today, for the first time, Allison is enrolled in a public high school and while she still has extreme anxiety and can only participate two days a week offsite. She is facing her fears and is working hard to catch up and one day hopes to graduate.

A Future with Animals: Lucy’s Story

“Lucy” arrived at Olive Crest’s Hope Refuge Campus nine months ago. She had been in juvenile hall for six months and prior to that, had been sleeping in her social worker’s office due to a lack of suitable placement options.

As a result of constantly moving, Lucy had been in more than a dozen schools and experienced alternative educational settings such as lockdown facilities and onsite classes while in juvenile hall. She was far behind academically and didn’t have the required number of credits for her grade level and to eventually graduate.

During her nine months at the Hope Refuge Campus, Lucy’s care team worked to help her deal with her temper, aggression, and outbursts. She learned to participate in productive conversations when she was angry and express herself in appropriate ways with minimal outbursts. She began to build trust with staff and develop healthy relationships with friends and Peers.

Today, Lucy is enrolled in public school. She has worked hard to bring her grades up and is now earning all Bs and has a 3.0 GPA. She has discovered her love for animals through her work with the animals at Hope Refuge’s campus. She took over care of the goat, the mini horse, the chickens and the resident cat. For the first time in Lucy’s life, she is making plans for her future. She has expressed an interest in working with animals one day and pursuing schooling in animal science.

Lucy has experienced great trauma and loss in her young life but looks toward her future with resilience and hope. Lucy has true stability, probably for the first time in her life, and from that has come incredible growth and openness to the work that is still to be done. We are so proud of Lucy and the humorous, energetic, playful, sometimes crazy, and always fun girl she is and look forward to the bright future she has ahead.

A dark reality is being exposed in Santa Barbara, along with many other cities across our nation.

The more we delved into the community, the more the darkness of the sex-trafficking industry
emerged. It became clear that we were living in the middle of a dangerous “corridor” leading from San Diego through Los Angeles up to San Francisco. Vulnerable girls and boys are being captured and exploited for others’ gain, sex-driven men create a demand for young bodies, and all along the exploiters make an awful lot of money. It’s not an industry people think of when they think of Santa Barbara — but it’s an industry that’s ever-growing, and it needs to be stopped.

Without a doubt, co-founding Hope Refuge was the hardest thing I have ever done, but by far the most rewarding.

In March 2022 it became the Olive Crest Hope Refuge campus, serving sex-trafficked minor girls (ages 12-17) from all of California and providing an intensive six-month residential hope restoration program, providing resources for healing and a new life 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Fighting this kind of evil for young, vulnerable victims has been incredibly intimidating as it can
often seem insurmountable. It has toughened me up and made me more resilient. At times, however, it has brought me to despair. It’s in those times that I remind myself that even if all of this was just for one child’s restoration, it would still be worth it.

On this journey, I feel more in tune with my inner world as I look out over the stunning mountain and ocean landscapes. It reminds me how small I am and how fleeting life can be. These past few years have been a time of facing difficult heart issues that can easily go hidden in hectic city life. I am more surrendered than ever to God to take up the plight of children who can’t fight for themselves. I live more whole-hearted than ever, and in many ways, creating a space for these girls to dream has actually enlarged my own dreams and for that I am grateful.

I believe, with your support, we can lead the way in ending sex trafficking.

For further information and ways to get involved, contact Sally Cook at sally-cook@olivecrest.org