Sex-trafficking survivor, “Kat,” shares her journey, her life now and empowering other Freedom Home survivors through mentorship.
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, UNITED STATES, April 15, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Shining a light on the $236 billion annual criminal industry of human exploitation, CNN released a segment today for their 10th annual #MyFreedomDay featuring 17-year-old survivor “Kat.” After being tricked into trafficking by a friend and trapped for 9 months, Kat was freed by Thai police and referred to Freedom Home, an aftercare facility operated by The Exodus Road.
At Freedom Home, Kat found community, sisterhood, and comprehensive support, including therapy medical care and life-skills training. During her time with The Exodus Road, she also graduated from a technical college for baking. She now helps run a noodle shop and sells her own baked goods to support her small family.
“When I started baking, it helped me relax and let go,” Kat told CNN. “I’m proud of myself that I’ve come this far.”
Kat’s healing journey began with her personal recovery, but it didn’t stop there. CNN’s segment also shows how Kat regularly returns to Freedom Home to mentor current residents who are recovering from exploitation. She also helped The Exodus Road develop a video series and prevention curriculum to help educate and warn other minors in her region about trafficking risks.
“Too often, the public conversation on human trafficking ends at intervention,” said Laura Parker, CEO and co-founder of The Exodus Road. “But true freedom requires far more than an exit. Survivors need safe relationships, trauma-informed care, practical support, and long-term opportunity. Kat’s story is powerful because it shows what can happen when a young person is not just removed from harm but supported as she rebuilds her life and begins helping others do the same.”
The Exodus Road’s 2025 survivor-care data underscores why survivor-centered support matters. In 2025, the organization reported 400 survivors receiving ongoing support after intervention, 197 survivors supported in home environments and 65 survivors admitted into residential care.
The organization also reported that 82% of survivors in long-term care showed reduced PTSD symptoms, and from the time it first began operating in 2021, 99% of survivors in their residential programming have successfully overcome the risk of re-exploitation.
According to reports from the International Organization on Migration (IOM), re-trafficking rates can be as high as 33% for women who have come out of sex trafficking. Survivors face a significant risk of re-exploitation, especially when long-term support and economic opportunity are limited. At Freedom Home, The Exodus Road’s team helps survivors access the care, stability and opportunities needed to build a different future.
In addition to empowering survivors with restorative care, The Exodus Road partners with law enforcement to support victim identification and trafficker arrests. The organization also trains vulnerable individuals and communities to recognize and avoid exploitation. Since its founding, The Exodus Road reports all-time impact totals of 6,363 survivors freed, 1,971 traffickers and perpetrators arrested, 2,783 survivors supported with aftercare, and 65,428 officers and citizens trained and educated.
Because of the significant safeguards required to protect survivors’ identities, the name, Kat, is an alias.
About The Exodus Road
The Exodus Road is a global nonprofit disrupting the darkness of modern-day slavery by partnering with law enforcement to fight human-trafficking crime, equipping communities to protect the vulnerable, and empowering survivors as they walk into freedom. Working side-by-side with local staff, NGO partners, and law enforcement around the world, The Exodus Road fights to liberate trafficked individuals, arrest traffickers, and provide restorative care for survivors. Since its founding in 2012, the organization has assisted police in the rescue of 6,000+ survivors and the arrests of nearly 2,000 offenders, numbers that grow almost daily. The Exodus Road’s approach to freedom incorporates intervention, prevention, and aftercare efforts.
In training and education, The Exodus Road offers a suite of online and in-person curriculums including TraffickWatch: Brazil, an online training curriculum specifically designed for law enforcement partners; INFLUENCED, a curriculum equipping United States and Brazilian parents and teens to participate in the online world while avoiding the dangers of exploitation; and Equip and Empower, a human trafficking prevention education curriculum for at-risk youth in Thailand. Cumulatively, the organization has trained more than 52,000 officers and citizens through its training and education curricula.
For additional information or to make a donation, visit https://theexodusroad.com/, or follow on social media, @theexodusroad.
Mackenzie Spillane
The Exodus Road
+ +1 7196484291
email us here
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