SAUGUS — After surviving sex trafficking and drug addiction, Jasmine Marino has continued to spread a message of hope; one she plans on sharing when she speaks at the middle high school auditorium.
Her story began when she developed a relationship with a man she met at a Saugus nightclub called The Palace.
“He would become my trafficker, and I was under him for five years. After I got out of that situation, I got addicted to drugs as a way to cope with all the trauma, and that would push me back into the life of prostitution, not with a pimp, but with a growing drug habit,” she said.
Marino expressed that is common for many victims, which is why she is so thankful she was able to escape that life.
“I got clean and sober in 2007. I still lived with my parents in Saugus and I started down the road to recovery and healing,” she said.
She found a church in town called Grace Ministries North Shore, which helped her on her path to recovery. The church no longer stands, but Marino began to rebuild her life from there, getting married and realizing that she was a survivor of trafficking.
“I didn’t know there was an actual term for it, and knowing that there was a term, and knowing that there was a federal law and survivors across the country doing important work in the anti-trafficking movement, just propelled me into a space of getting involved and wanting to help,” she said.
Marino realized that if she could survive, other women could too. So, she started to make Bags of Hope.
According to a press release from the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), who are hosting Marino’s talk, the goal for the event is to fill 30 Bags of Hope. The items still needed for the event are shower gel, 12 oz. shampoos, 12 oz. conditioners, hats, deodorant, Visine eye drops, body lotion, hair brushes, nail polish, socks, toothbrushes, ChapStick, hair ties, water bottles, shower puffs, floss, mittens/gloves, and trail mix.
“We’ve been doing this outreach for about 10 years. We have partner agencies that we connect with that give out the bags for the women they serve. We focus on anywhere we find vulnerable women that are at high-risk to be exploited or are already exploited,” she said.
The Jasmine Grace Outreach gives out over 1,000 bags a year and also runs groups in halfway houses and jails.
“For many years we would send women out to safe houses across the country if they wanted to get into specific housing to heal from exploitation,” she said.
She continued that a few years ago, the outreach was able to open its own home for women.
“A couple purchased a 17-bedroom on 15 acres in New Hampshire, and they rented it to us for little to nothing, and we just have to raise funds to pay the tax, utility, and staffing,” Marino said.
This house and the outreach’s ability to help these women is what keeps Marino going every day. “We get to walk alongside them more closely and really help them heal and recover while they stay with us for up to two years,” she said,
The event at Saugus Middle High School on Pearce Memorial Drive will be on March 8 beginning at 11 a.m. The event is free, however, the DAR asks that those in attendance bring items needed to fill Bags of Hope.
Any questions or concerns can be directed to Gail Cassarino, Regent of the Parson Roby Chapter of the DAR, at [email protected] or Janice Jarosz at 339-222-2178.
To learn more about the outreach visit jasminegrace.org
