From Survival to Sanctuary: A Piece of My “Why”

We lived downstairs from what was known as a trap house. The people upstairs were drug dealers. As a child, I didn’t process danger the way adults do. I wasn’t afraid in the moment — I simply didn’t have the capacity to understand how exposed and unprotected I truly was. That awareness didn’t come until much later, when I had the words and the life experience to name what my body had already learned.

Because my sister and I were the oldest, adult responsibilities were placed on us very early. One of those responsibilities was the laundry. Once a month, it became our job to take the household