Polina's Story
As a survivor leader, Polina is helping others overcome what she has experienced and is fighting for justice and equality. When she first got to Covenant House, she felt like she couldn’t trust anyone. She had just run from a hostile, dangerous situation, where she was surrounded by bad influences. “I did not have control of my own life and that is a terrible feeling,” shared Polina.
At Covenant House, she was provided with immediate services and the staff helped her to understand how to navigate her life. Polina said, “Before I was living in stress and fear. There have been periods in my life when I felt apathy and disempowerment, but I’ve always known what I want from life and what I should do in order to succeed and now I am working towards those goals every day. We live in a world where everybody’s role is different, but it doesn’t make somebody less important because of their race, gender, ethnicity, economic and social background. We need to provide support so more young people don’t get caught in trafficking rings where there is so much suffering.”