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I am so grateful today to be able to say I have finally found a couple of groups of people who are willing to help me with my primary addiction "prostitution" they are offering me help with the PTSD and all of the other problems I have aquired over the years due to trauma from living this type of lifestyle.

I am involved in a new program called NOW New Alternatives for Women that is offered through LifeWorks here in Portland. I have a mentor today that has lived this type of lifestyle herself and been out of it now for over 10 years. I am also a member of CPA support group. Councel for Prostitution Alternatives. I have found that it is very helpful to meet once a week and talk. We talk about solutions to emediate problems. We do alot of networking and the whole thing is very informal yet affective.

In my opinion these are the very specific programs needed to reach the women who want to leave the industry but do not know how. We should all have this choice. Please support them and help all of the women who want out to be given a chance.

Sincerely,

freedon4308@yahoo.com

posted 4 years, 1 month ago
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Althlough it has been said that prostitution is the oldest proffession in the world, and I agree it will never go away, it has also devastated many lives. This issue runs so incredibly deep that it is hard to merely comment on it. It affects so many people in so many negative ways. I am appalled at the latest attempt to just re-name it and try to put it into some kind of functional employment bracket.

I am a 41 year old ex- prostitute. I have struggled with leaving this lifestyle for many years. When I was a small child my family tried to convince me that incest was ok. I always knew that the things they tried to groom me into believing were not at all ok. I entered the life at age 14, right here in Portland OR. I knowingly ran away with every intention on becoming a prostitute. in my young mind it made perfect sense to take control of the very thing that was trying to destroy me. SEX

In the early years this worked for me. I was able to escape the pain and abuse. I made anywhere from $800 to $1000 a day. It was exciting. I was wanted and that felt good. I traveled all over the US. I met all kinds of people and most of them were more than generous. Looking back why wouldn't they have been. I was a young beautiful girl that had exactly what they were looking for.

Then everything changed. I have been raped and left for dead more times than I care to remember. Hideous acts have been performed on me without my permission. I was kidnapped at one point by a satanic cult and I could go on. Not to mention the police contact and jail sanctions. The end result was an old addicted prostitute with not a clue how to live. Because severe addiction was the end result every attempt to help me has been geared towards treating my addiction and completely overlooking the primary problem which was the affects of being raised in the "game" Being brought up in the "sex industry" has impaired my judgment and created problems that the typical addict could never unerstand.

posted 4 years, 1 month ago
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