Angelica

After 8 years in the sex trade, Angelica has been living at the aftercare facility called Mercy Workshop since 2017.  She is a mom with two daughters and one son. She is fighting ferociously for one of her daughters who is now 15 and recently gave birth to her granddaughter from being sex trafficked.

Angelica has the most contagious smile and the heart of a lion. It took years for her to realize what her lifestyle has done and how it impacted her children. She takes care of her granddaughter and is trying to protect her from those who have taken her daughter and it's been an uphill battle.

Utilizing the resources of the aftercare facility Angelica is becoming better equipped each day with emotional support and trauma healing. She started to make simple wooden bead and cord necklaces and earrings in 2018. When she learned about the wire wrap training she asked to join in the class saying "Once I learn I will teach my daughters and others so they know they can make something too".

She arrived every day of training full of life and enthusiastically plopped herself on the front row, opened her kit and book, and began! She shared that it was so helpful to learn 'good ways to design' and new tools that help make the designs work better. She showed us photos of her beautiful granddaughter and beamed with pride saying (in Spanish) “Ella tendrá buena vida. Mi vida dura, su vida Buena”. "She will have good life. My life hard, her life good".