Mary Moore’s (’18) Social Work Story

By Mary Moore (’18)

In 2008, I met a 14-year old boy. He was living as a 22-year old and was being trafficked in every sense of the word. He had been sold by his parents, both drug addicts, at age 10 for $3,000 to a man who was in charge of a human trafficking ring. This man put him to work immediately making him do whatever he could to make money. He had sex with men and women for money. He was forced to make pornographic movies with other kids to sell. He was forced to take cocaine and other drugs so he would perform naturally. He had been beaten and hospitalized many times by his pimp and johns.

When he arrived in my life, he was in the process of running from his life. His pimp did not take no for an answer. He was living with a friend but his pimp kidnapped him several times, once from the bus stop by tasing him. In the next few months, the boy had been beaten so severely that once he had a shoe print bruise on his stomach. He also has a fractured back that continues to cause him pain. He has also had some of his intestines removed from being raped with anything that was available.

The great thing about this story is that he was ultimately adopted by someone who cared for him deeply. I worked with the people taking care of him, usually trying to keep him out of trouble. He would confide in me and if he was in danger, I would relay the information to the people that could help him. He is now 22-years old, really now! He works full-time and is very functional. He has no clue how to deal with relationships of any kind and has issues with coping, among other things.

Over the past nine (9) years, I feel like I have been instrumental in his progress. He was a scared 14-year old boy and although it has taken a long time to get this far, he has worked hard. He is my sole reason for choosing social work as my field. I had a Master in Criminal Justice but when I finally had the degree, it did not seem where I belonged. Then the boy walked right into my life and showed me what I was really good at. It was not one specific moment but it made all of the difference.