Russell shares his experience of being trafficked as a small child by his mother and later being trafficked in the foster care system, juvenile justice system, and on the streets. These experiences led to a poor self-image and bad decisions. He wishes he had someone to help him transcend the trauma. He hopes that by sharing his story, he can help others who have gone through similar experiences and help them view themselves in a healthy and positive way.
My name is Russell Wilson, and I was trafficked as a very small child. One of the reasons I wanted to be here was to share a little bit about that story and the journey that made me who I am today. My journey started when I was very little; my mother started trafficking me when I was a very small child. Then I was in foster care, and I ended up being trafficked in the foster care system and juvenile justice system and on the streets for survival. Those experiences gave me a really poor outlook on who I was and my role in the world. I wish that there was somebody there that could have shared some of their experience of how they were able to transcend that experience for themselves, but there wasn't.
I made a lot of really bad and poor decisions and choices in life, and it took me a very long time to view myself in a healthy and positive way. That's why I'm here today. If I can share my story and my experience with somebody who may have been through something similar, and I can help them find that space where they can feel good about who they are and transcend that trauma and have a healthy relationship with that trauma, then my experience was worth it.
