Meet Elizabeth Quiroz: Human Trafficking Survivor and Co-Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Elizabeth Quiroz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Elizabeth, can you share a quote or affirmation with us?
“We can move on with our lives and never speak of what God has brought us out of, or we can go back into the burning building and save as many souls as we can and bring them to freedom with us. This is the path I choose today.”

I love this quote because I am using my pain for purpose and not allowing my traumatic experiences go to vain.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
We are not our past; we are better. I am a 36-year-old survivor of human trafficking, and I am determined to use my experience to help others escape the same demoralizing and tormenting nightmare I experienced. I not only want to help victims, but I also want to help improve how law enforcement, the criminal justice system, and the community can support them with compassion and understanding. My passion is to let the world know that WE ARE NOT OUR PAST; WE ARE BETTER. My childhood was a life of physical abuse and a family of gang members, drug addicts, and alcoholics who spent time in and out of jail. Inevitably, I ended up in foster care and soon found myself on the same path as my family. I ran away from foster, hoping to be safe, but I ran straight into the welcoming arms of my soon-to-be trafficker. For years, I was addicted to drugs and trafficked on the streets of San Francisco. I had a child and prayed things would change, but I was arrested, again and again, eventually losing custody of my son. That was a pivotal moment in my life, the day I took a stand—never again would I be victimized.
Simply breaking away wasn’t enough; I couldn’t leave others behind. I was determined to use my experience with traffickers and the criminal justice system to help other victims of sex trafficking. First, I needed to go back to school, establish relationships with community leaders, and educate others about sex trafficking. I received an Associate in Arts degree in Social Advocacy, Behavioral Science, and Human Services, all with honors. Now I am obtaining my B.A. degree at Sonoma University and then transferring to Arizona State University for my Masters in Social Justice and Human Rights.
In 2018, I received a full and unconditional Pardon from Governor Brown. I serve on the Sonoma County Human Trafficking Task Force and speak nationally about sex trafficking. Regardless of what I have been told in the past, I will continue to succeed by showing the world that redemption and hope exist for others like me.
I wholeheartedly believe that a compassionate and trauma-informed approach by people working with trafficking victims can increase positive outcomes. My last arrest impacted me in ways that I am still currently processing. I developed the desire to help young women at risk because of my victimization and what I learned on my path to freedom. I have a lot to offer these women in terms of hope, reassurance, and adopting a healthier perspective of themselves through my work at Redemption House of the Bay Area, a soon-to-open safe-house I am establishing for human trafficking victims in Sonoma County.
My desire to advocate stems from the realization that statistically, I was destined to fail, but I chose to prevail and SPEAK MY TRUTH. My abuse, foster care, human trafficking, addiction, and incarceration experiences give me a unique perspective in developing sex trafficking policy and practice improvements. I can use my experience and knowledge to help change policy and improve law enforcement training to recognize sex workers as victims, not suspects, and work with community partners to help others escape their traffickers. Changes in policy and practice extend to all aspects of the criminal justice system, including the courts, detention facilities, and probation and parole. Because of all of my experiences, I can show the community how we are not our past; instead, we are leaders with the courage to stand up and make real change in our communities.
I give back to my community by volunteering at The Promise Center, my place of worship. I also volunteered for the Bear Cub Scholar Program for foster youth. I was president of The Second Chance Club for formerly incarcerated students at the Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC). I’ve tabled at The Second Chance Club events and worked with different organizations to raise funds for the club. I go out into the community and speak at expungement workshops, prisons for women, graduations at the Sonoma County Jail, different online podcast episodes, and at Student for Recovery events at SRJC in the hope that I can help motivate people on their journey from trauma into triumph. I am also a member of the Sonoma County Human Trafficking Task Force, and I worked and volunteered at Women’s Recovery. I am currently a Substance Use Disorder Counselor at Athena House Residential Treatment Center for women, and I am a Human Trafficking Victim’s Advocate. I also founded and co-facilitated Sonoma County’s first Human Trafficking support group for victims/survivors with other organizations. My long-term goal is to open Redemption House of the Bay Area, a safe house for Human Trafficking victims here in Sonoma County.
I am nine years clean, and I’ve never felt so alive. In the future, I will have my Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree and be pursuing the career God has planned for me. I am actually graduating this month with my bachelors degree in Sociology. My graduation is May 23rd. Thanks to an Unconditional Governor’s Pardon I received from Jerry Brown on Christmas Eve of 2018, I am now free to go places I never dreamed possible.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
In Santa Rosa, I would definitely take my guest to Bodega Bay and enjoy the scenery on the beach.

If they were planning to stay for a week, I would encourage them to rent an AIRBNB in the Healdsburg area.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
First, I want to give a shout out to God because of my strong faith in him, I am able to show up on any platform and speak my truth.

Second, I want to give a shout out to Verity.
Verity is a rape crisis trauma center here in Sonoma County and they helped me find my voice and believed in me.

Website: https://imlovingme.net/blog/being-a-voice-for-the-voiceless-how-a-survivor-wants-to-help-victims-of-human-trafficking/

Instagram: @quirozelizabeth2015

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JesusDaily/videos/264706398009669/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niDyE2i1KNM&list=WL&index=23

Other: https://www.projectmonashouse.com/post/names-you-should-know-elizabeth-quiroz
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/santa-rosa-human-trafficking-survivor-helps-others-overcome-barriers/

Image Credits
Valerie Rose Medina