PORTLAND, Oregon — Adorned in Grace is an affordable bridal and formalwear boutique. Proceeds are used for the awareness and prevention of sex trafficking as well as crisis prevention for survivors.
One woman says the nonprofit profit boutique changed her life. In order to tell her story, KGW agreed to protect her identity.
“I think neglect for me was very, very detrimental,” she said. “I think that it caused me to look for love and try to find love when I didn't love myself.”
She left a broken home and moved to Portland when she was 18.
“My friend and I moved in with her cousin and she was a stripper, so I pretty much almost immediately got introduced to stripping and started stripping,” she said.
She also quickly became addicted to drugs and alcohol. Before she knew it, she was in prostitution and involved in an unhealthy relationship.
Her life spiraled out of control for almost a decade, and then one night she was kidnapped at knife point.
“He tied me up in his car, he was driving and trying to get me out of Portland,” she explained. “I ended up getting out of the ties and I grabbed the knife and stabbed him and then I kicked out the window and I was able to jump out.”
It turned out to be a terrifying wakeup call for her.
“I was like, I really need to go to a program, it's either that or die; I don't want to live, I can't do this anymore.”
She was accepted into a faith-based recovery program in Louisiana with the support of Adorned in Grace in Portland.
“We were able to help her in a lot of small ways, collaborating with different organizations, nonprofits, churches and other people who wanted to see her and help her succeed,” explained Linda Tribbett, founder of the boutique.
“I tell her all the time, I don’t know where I would be if God hadn’t put them in my life,” said the woman.
She completed the residential counseling program and now has a scholarship to college, along with a newfound perspective.
“I just have hope now; I think that was one of the biggest things, I had no hope and now I have hope and I have a future,” she said.
Adorned in Grace has locations in Portland, Gresham and Tacoma, Washington.