LANSING, Mich. — This week’s Good Neighbor says she was inspired to make a difference after learning a startling statistic.
Thousands of women and young girls are sold into slavery in the United States each year.
Eaton Rapids resident Shari Montgomery says, after learning that, she promised herself that she would help as many women and girls as possible. Women like Kristy Hagarty, whose story was tragic before meeting Shari.
“The House of Promise to me personally symbolizes hope," said Hagarty.
Kristy is one of the dozens of women getting a second chance at life after being referred to and helped by volunteers at Lansing’s The House of Promise.
Montgomery says The House of Promise is a rehabilitation home for severely sexually abused and sex trafficked women. She founded The House of Promise in 2018. It’s a nonprofit that runs exclusively on donations.
It started after she attended a church service where a guest speaker talked about the prevalence of sex trafficking worldwide. Montgomery says when she heard it happens to girls as young as 3 years old, she had this overwhelming feeling she had to do something.
“I've got to be part of the solution," she said. "No little girl should be told she's worth 100 bucks. And no little girl should be sexually active at age 3. I don't think anybody can even wrap their mind around that.”
Hagarty says she came to The House of Promise after moving to the U.S. from Australia in 2019. She had been speaking to a guy online for five years and then flew to Michigan to meet him.
“He was not who he said he was. He became extremely violent and possessive and took my passport and visa forcing me to overstay," Hagarty said. "I was then broke and living in a foreign country. I didn't know the system. I didn't know anything, and long story short, I ran away from that situation.”
She says she became homeless for the first time in her life after running away.
“I was around all sorts of unsavory characters and was lured to a hotel room for the promise of a shower and somewhere to stay for the night. And I didn't end up leaving that hotel room for seven months," Hagarty said. "There were two men there, and they were traffickers. I'd never known the term before. They had multiple girls’ (women) there that they used sexually whenever they wanted, as well as anyone who came to the room to pay for services.”
She was trapped in the hotel room for seven months. Then one day, she decided she would either die there or try to escape and get help.
"Only two people were in the room at that time, and they were both passed out asleep. I snuck to where my personal belongings and passport were, ran out of that hotel room and kept running. I flagged someone down and called 911. And that's how I got out of this situation,” Hagarty said.
Eventually, she was referred to The House of Promise.
Montgomery says her goal is to help as many women like Hagarty as possible.
“What we do is we teach life skills, teach boundaries. Some of these girls struggle with boundaries because they have been shattered. We teach conflict resolution, we rebuild them, you know, in any way they need. If they need schooling, we help them with that, so when they leave here, they are a survivor. They're not a victim anymore. They're survivors who can hold their heads high and say I've done it," Montgomery said.
Hagarty says she is so thankful to Montgomery and The House of Promise.
“Thank you. I don’t know where I would be right now. It’s a high percentage that I would be six feet underground now if it weren’t for this place. It allowed me to trust and feel safe," Hagarty said.
Montgomery says The House of Promise has helped over 40 women since she started it in 2018.
“I pray this will be my legacy that I get to leave on this earth. That there's a safe place for women to go for years to come," Montgomery said.
We want to thank Shari Montgomery and all the volunteers at The House of Promise. You are this week’s Good Neighbors.
If you would like more information on The House of Promise, visit their website.
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