COLUMBUS – A year ago, Ohio ranked fifth in the nation for human trafficking cases and Columbus was one of the 10 worst cities.
The latest home for human trafficking survivors opened Sunday overlooking the Statehouse, a three-story, 8,000 square foot building which will welcome its first eight residents next month.
The Turning Point Home is the culmination of six years of work by the Zion Christian Fellowship’s Normandy Project will help fill a vital need, supporters said.
“You can’t just hand someone a certificate after treatment and say, ‘Congratulations. Go live your life,’ ’’ trafficking survivor Barbara Freeman (pictured above right) said. “After being trafficked for many years, I was scared to live my life. I didn’t even know how to pay a bill. I was terrified.’’
After being trafficked for 23 years, starting at age 15, Freeman now runs the Freeman Project, a home on Columbus’ southeast side that also provides housing and services, such as counseling and financial literacy courses to survivors.
Some of the Turning Point’s first residents may come from among the 16 people who graduated from the CATCH Court, a specialty docket at Franklin County Municipal Court aimed at helping women who have been arrested for prostitution-related crimes. The name stands for “Changing Actions To Change Habits.”