Sex Trafficking in Alabama: Former Victim, Current Rescuer
Update: In August 2018, al.com reported Tajuan McCarty, founder of The WellHouse ministry in Birmingham, was arrested in a drug raid at a Tarrant home.
As a teenager, Tajuan McCarty ran away from home and sold drugs to survive. Soon, she ended up selling herself. But it wasn’t voluntary. McCarty had become one of tens of millions of sex-trafficking victims around the world. Years later she founded The WellHouse, a shelter and rehabilitation facility for sexually exploited women. In this second part of our three-part series, she talks with WBHM’s Dan Carsen about her difficult journey. Please note: this conversation may not be suitable for younger listeners or readers.
Her Story
“Between 12 and 15 I ran away many times. At 15, I met my first pimp. At 15, you have no skill set, but you still need to eat and survive … I didn’t have to do what the other girls had to do at first. He had me selling drugs. So of course he ‘loved me more.’ It didn’t take long for that to change. My quota I made every night by selling drugs, up until one particular night that he drops me off and gives me the drugs, and there’s not enough drugs for me to make my quota. And I already knew what happened when you didn’t make quota: you were punished. Anything from a beating to a torture, a rape, or a gang rape. Did I physically admit to being paid for sex? Yes. I was 15. I wasn’t even old enough to consent to sex, much less being paid to be raped.”
Years on a Dark Road
“Between 15 and 26, I’ve been sold in every state but Alaska and Hawaii. One of the largest circuits for human trafficking is Atlanta, Birmingham, Nashville, Memphis, and Chattanooga. And you have to understand, it’s a two- or two-and-a-half-hour drive from Atlanta to Birmingham, but it may take us three days, because you’re sold at every single exit.”
Advice to Parents and Anyone Else
“What works is love and grace. And I mean those times when you’re going, ‘Oh my God, I’m at my wits’ end. I cannot help them any more. They don’t want help.’ And then you love them one more time. And you love them one more time. And then you love them one more time. And then some more times. I don’t care what she’s done or has been done to her. She deserves to have love and grace. She is not a prostitute, she is not a whore, she is not a drug user, and it’s our responsibility to love her, because that’s what God does for us.”
From Victim to Founder of The WellHouse
“I started WellHouse with $33 when I was on food stamps. I’d been out of prison for a little over a year, and I met Jesus and he gave me the vision, because I knew it was needed and there was a gap in services for the ladies we serve … And what we’ve done from $33 to 63 acres in six years blows me away.”
The extended web-exclusive interview with Tajuan McCarty is below. You can access our three-part series on sex trafficking in Alabama here.
Ken Dryden, Hall of Fame goalie for the Montreal Canadiens, dies at age 78
Dryden backstopped the NHL's most successful franchise to championships in six of his eight seasons in the league from 1970-71 to '78-79. He died after a fight with cancer.
‘Twinless’ is a dark comedy that doubles up on the twists
Dylan O'Brien and James Sweeney craft a kind of chemistry that is equal parts funny and heart-wrenching.
Russ & Daughters in NYC celebrates ‘100 years of appetizing’ and family
At Russ & Daughters, it takes three months to learn how to slice salmon. NPR's Scott Simon visits the 100 year-old appetizing store to try his hand at the fine art and talk about their new cookbook.
20 years later, is it time to quit ‘Brokeback Mountain’?
Back in 2005, Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal captured lust shading into love, and love decaying into heartbreak. The movie got a lot of things right — but not everything.
As opposition to an Alabama medical waste treatment facility boils over, a mysterious Facebook page weighs in
Dozens of residents opposed to Harvest Med Waste Disposal’s site in Remlap packed the Blount County courthouse to voice their concerns. Online, a paid campaign supporting the facility has been active, though its backers have remained anonymous.
In April NPR profiled people who couldn’t get their HIV drugs. How are they faring now?
In Zambia, we met people who are HIV positive, couldn't get drugs to suppress the virus after U.S. aid cuts and were seeing symptoms. We checked in on them — and the man who's been their champion.
