Why I Work at My Life My Choice
By Susan Alves, Mentoring Services Manager
“Each one, teach one.” That’s what I say when people ask me why I work at My Life My Choice. It means to share what you learn so that we can all rise up together.
Even now, after six years of being a Survivor Mentor and now the Mentoring Services Manager, I look to my own mentor for advice and guidance. She’s a survivor of sexual exploitation too, and teaches me how to be the best leader and mentor I can be.
At My Life My Choice, we teach our mentees, prevention group participants, trainees (and just about anyone who stands still long enough to hear us out) about exploitation. I’m amazed by the impact of that teaching. The knowledge doesn’t stop with the people we give it to; it spreads. It spreads from survivor to survivor, from trainee to supervisor, from law enforcement officer to community leader. Each one teaches one, or two, or twenty, or beyond. The impact is endless.
This is what My Life My choice is all about: a ripple effect so that we can rise together to end the commercial sexual exploitation of children.
I see it every day when a mentee supports one of her peers, or when a girl in one of our prevention groups shares a story of how she was able to recognize a potential trafficker online. But even more significantly, I see it in our community. When I first started, it didn’t feel like many people understood what this injustice was and why this fight was important.
Today, our network of supporters, community leaders, and partners has grown powerfully, and we can say with confidence that our survivor-led model works. Not just because we’ve being seeing results since 2002, but because our newly published Evaluation Study reinforces exactly what we have been seeing and saying all along.
What we’re doing is working. What we’re teaching is spreading. Our impact is growing. Each donation* is one step closer to the day when no child is bought or sold. I hope you will consider making a donation today. With your help, we are getting nearer to a future where kids aren’t hurt in this way.
*This post is part of our Annual Giving campaign