Sex trafficking survivor Leah Rogers addressed young people staying at the Tumbleweed Emergency Housing Program July 2, sharing her story of survival and recovery.

Rogers is a former stripper and sex industry worker who has written an Autobiography called “Game Over: The Story Behind A Sex Trafficking Victim,” released  in May, 2015, detailing life as a prostitute owned by a savage pimp.

Leah’s website and powerful YouTube video have given her international exposure. Through social media, she is approaching one million views.

Leah was raised with a mother who was a heavy drug user and was regularly physically abused by men.  Leah began running away and worked as a stripper to maintain a living for her daughter. It was there that she’d met the man later exposed as a pimp.

Leah worked as a prostitute around the United States, mainly California, Scottsdale, Arizona, Washington, D.C and Texas for almost three years, while being beaten brutally by her pimp even after she became pregnant with his son.

On May 13th, 2011, after disturbing encounters with law enforcement and her pimp’s recruitment of underage girls, Leah got a second chance to turn her life around.

“Nuestra Causa” host Maria Jesus Cervantes interviewed Tumbleweed’s Ken Lynch about the Tumbleweed partnership with Chicanos Por La Causa that is creating a new 44-bed facility for young people transitioning from homelessness or foster care.

Ms. Cervantes also talked with Tumbleweed client Eric Robles about his journey toward stability following years of teen homelessness.

The “Nuestra Causa” program aired on KTVK Channel 3 June 14.

Tumbleweed and CPLC partnered to provide neighborhood stabilization and community housing when CPLC purchased and renovated the Starlight Apartments at 2234 E. Hazelwood in Phoenix. Tumbleweed has furnished most of the apartments and will assist many residents toward self-sufficient adulthood.  Tumbleweed staff will be on the premises monitoring progress as younger tenants learn how to balance work, school and self care in an independent setting.

The groups held a joint ribbon cutting ceremony June 2.

http://mms.tveyes.com/PlaybackPortal.aspx?SavedEditID=2fcf06e0-6f10-4e91-be7f-e9556bdd8957

(June 10, 2015) Tumbleweed Program Manager Melissa Brockie was featured on a panel of experts at the White House this week as Washington welcomed a National Convening on Trafficking and Child Welfare.

Tumbleweed is the lead agency of the five-member AZ Partnership to End Domestic Trafficking and Brockie is Tumbleweed’s point person in the effort. At the White House, Brockie was a panelist during the “Focusing on Coordination and Collaboration” session. She addressed the statewide collaboration that is fighting international trafficking, domestic violence and sexual assault, and assisting runaway and homeless youth.

“Arizona is a critical battleground in the fight against human trafficking and it is a privilege to be invited to the White House to share what we are learning,” Brockie said. “AZ Partnership is an innovative way to bring local groups together as public awareness of this tragedy increases, and that is what the other experts in the field wished to hear about.”

Other members of the AZ Partnership are Training and Resources United to Stop Trafficking (TRUST), Arizona Legal Women And Youth Services (ALWAYS), Phoenix Dream Center and Our Family Services. The Arizona State University School of Social Work’s Office of Sex Trafficking Intervention Research is providing research and evaluating the effectiveness of the effort.

Brockie also met with the Polaris Project, a national group working to eradicate worldwide slavery and human trafficking. Earlier today, Polaris published its latest research on minors being compelled into labor and sex trafficking in the United States.

http://www.polarisproject.org/human-trafficking/resources/child-trafficking-child-welfare

(June 3, 2015) Tumbleweed and Chicanos Por La Causa celebrated a unique partnership June 2 with a ribbon cutting at a renovated west Phoenix apartment complex.

The former Starlight Apartments at 2234 W. Hazelwood will be providing housing for residents, including young people assisted by Tumbleweed in the transition from foster care or homelessness. The 44-beds in the one and two-bedroom complex will significantly increase Tumbleweed’s ability to offer housing to this group, according to Tumbleweed CEO Cyndi Schuler.

“It’s significant not only because it enhances our ability to help our service populations but also because it brings us together with one of the most respected social service agencies in Arizona, Chicanos Por La Causa,” said Tumbleweed CEO Cynthia Schuler.

Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC) purchased the complex and renovated it through its construction subsidiary. CPLC will also manage the property. “Tumbleweed will have staff on site 24/7 to work with the young people who are transitioning to young adulthood,” Schuler says.

The neighborhood benefits from having a formerly derelict property renovated an occupied, Schuler adds, “and our young peope have already been at work in the neighborhood, volunteering for cleanups and graffiti removal.” Schuler said Tumbleweed worked with the City of Phoenix and local neighborhood groups to create community support.

Residents should begin moving in by the end of June, she said.

May 13, 2015 Tumbleweed had the honor of presenting an overview of our services to the Salt River Project Board of Directors on May 13. We were there at the invitation of Lona Hulfachor & Michelle Bigman of the SRP Employee Boosters Association. The Boosters provide funding for Valley non profits and we are fortunate enough to have been invited to compete this year. The presentation is a mandatory part of the process and went very well. Really enjoyed it, and we look forward to being part of the Employee Booster Association Family!