Esther Flores Breaking the Cycle of Trafficking BY TAMANI LUCY-THOMPSON Esther Flores’ story began in her Puerto Rican home in the Bronx River Projects, located in the South Bronx of New York. Her Spanish-speaking mother strived to provide for both her and her brother in a poverty-stricken and crime-infested neighborhood. Esther recalls eating a limitless supply of cornflakes, often in place of full meals. Speaking Spanish with her mother kept her connected to her roots and an appreciation of her heritage. Young Esther was exposed to various forms of abuse while growing up and attempted to find refuge by participating in after-school and church activities. After graduating high school and obtaining her Bachelor of Science in forensic medicine degree from Lehman College, part of the City University of New York, she applied to and was accepted at The Ohio State University College of Nursing. She soon began working at a nearby hospital and began working full-time. Esther married someone she thought would always be her everything, but she quickly began to recognize the signs of emotional abuse as his hurtful words and actions damaged her self-esteem and caused her to question her self-worth. She worried the abuse would escalate to physical violence, as it had with her father. After several unsuccessful attempts at marriage counseling, she filed a divorce. Feelings of hopelessness invaded her thoughts, and she wanted to end it all. She binge-drank on weekends and got involved in toxic relationships. One weekend, she had laid out a plan to end her life. She was on the bedroom floor in the fetal position and cried out, “If there is a God, please take away this pain.” Miraculously, she says, “I was instantly relieved from the pain.” With a moment of clarity, she decided to seek counseling for her mental health. Through that counseling, she learned the importance of facing emotional pain and surrounding herself with people who would help her through the healing process. Developing healthy coping mechanisms, rather than detaching from reality, is crucial, and this knowledge prompted her to begin working with human trafficking victims. They are vulnerable with her, and she is transparent with them. Esther originally chose to numb her pain with alcohol, but the pain would return when she sobered up. This is one of the reasons she believes in the importance of havens such as drop-in centers in red light districts: To show people the need to replace self-destructive behaviors with healing ones and good influences such as peer supporters, nurses, and different forms of therapy. This type of “love tribe” is nonjudgmental and protects the most vulnerable – women, youth, and transgender people – whose brains have been hijacked by opiates, stimulants, or other substances. The more the human trafficking victim comes to the drop-in center, the more they recognize their self-worth. Esther’s nine months of counseling helped her discover a lot about herself. It pushed her to form a healthy core support team to inspire and empower her. She also knew she had to nurture her spirit, which led her to find her divine purpose as a global and urban missionary at Rhema Christian Center led by Bishop Lafayette Scales. Her life experiences have shown her the injustices in the world: mistreatment of the poor, economic development overpowering human development, homeless families living in cars ENVISIONPROVENSUCCESS.COM | 27
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