WASHINGTON – When their adopted daughter grew up and moved out, a retired couple from Central Maryland started refilling their nest.
One girl who moved in was given cigarettes and ice-cream sandwiches to help her stay off drugs. Another was given a laptop to complete her GED. All the girls this couple has taken in over the years have been given soft beds, warm meals and love they hadn’t felt in years.
The girls had all been previously exploited by others through human trafficking or prostitution and are now trying to start new lives.
The couple is part of the host family program of Maryland’s Safe House of Hope, a non-profit organization providing options to people exploited through prostitution or human trafficking.
CNS has chosen to omit the names of the couple, as well as the trafficking victim currently living with them, in order to protect their identities.
“When I retired I thought maybe I can make myself useful. We have four bedrooms, we felt we could share some,” the woman from the host family in Central Maryland said.