I was 16 when I moved out on my own. I had no father at my home. My single mother had extreme mental health issues. I didn't feel comfortable, so I moved out on my own, and the welfare cheques that I got didn't last until the end of the month. I was in school. When I went to the soup kitchen, I met other girls my age who were able to go out on the corner for a few hours and make a few hundred bucks, and that's what I started doing.
When I got older I went into a few different massage parlours and agencies. Some of them were good and some were bad. I've had different experiences. I am not a sex addict. I am not coming from trauma. Currently, I hold a position at PASAN which is a prisoners' HIV and AIDS agency where I run an indigenous program. I work 35 hours a week there.
I work five hours a week doing on-the-ground, street-level outreach with backpacks, talking to sex workers who are working on the streets. I do hand drumming for the Native Women's Resource Centre of Toronto a couple of times a week. I live a pretty normal life. The only thing that is not normal about it is when I was young, I made some bad choices. I have shit credit.
I live in Toronto. I make over $3,000 a month and it's not enough to pay rent for me and my four children. We live in a motel room.