At the age of 12, my life changed forever, I experienced the loss of my father. This sent me on a serious downward spiral of depression and consumed my life at such a young age. I spent many years struggling with alcohol and heroin addiction. In 2009, I was introduced to The Dream Center. When I came here through the Discipleship Program, I immediately felt God’s presence and began to see my true value. I graduated the program and decided to stay and become a volunteer for the Teen Discipleship Program. I was still new to Christianity and the concept of church. There were things that I personally didn’t agree and became extremely judgmental and resentful towards “the church”. Before I knew it, I let this bitterness and resentment turn into hatred, which lead me back down a path of drug use, and leaving The Dream Center. I spent years in my pain and refused to turn to God. In December of 2014, I finally hit my rock bottom and knew that I not only needed God back in my life, but I also needed to go back to The Dream Center. God has been so faithful, since coming back he has completely restored my life and my family. I currently work in the Corporate Relations Department, where I build relationships and partner with corporations to support the many causes at The Dream Center. I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to give back to The Dream Center every day of my life, but I feel called to do even more. Partnering with the Los Angeles Marathon and our Human Trafficking Program is another way that I can use my life for God’s Kingdom. There are over 10,000 women who are trapped in underground brothels throughout Los Angeles. The Dream Center is the only emergency rescue shelter in Southern California for adult victims of Human Trafficking. You can make the difference between life or death for these victims, by supporting me as I run for hope on behalf of these victims.