More than 50 years ago, when Polly Hansen was 16 years old, she found herself 2,000 miles from home. She was alone, penniless and afraid. Rather than call her mother and likely face rejection and disappointment, she attempted to make it on her own. 

When a man in a bright red pickup truck rolled down his window and offered her a place to stay, she accepted. This is how she came to exchange sex for food and shelter.

A few days later, Polly called her mother and together they made a plan for Polly to return to the Chicago area. She was unsure how, but she just needed to survive one more week on her own.

Strangers allowed Polly to stay with them overnight, leaving an indelible impression on the teen. Decades later, Polly still recalls their kindness and generosity.

After leaving their home, an acquaintance arranged for Polly to stay with a much older man. Unable to articulate her needs and feeling unworthy of others’ help, Polly couch surfed at this man’s home, engaging in survival sex as “payment” for the roof over her head. At the time, she was unaware she was being trafficked.

Youth experiencing homelessness are at a high risk of human trafficking victimization. According to the National Network for Youth, one in five runaway and homeless youth are a victim of human trafficking – inclusive of sex and labor trafficking. In Polly’s case, the predators she encountered during this period used coercion to engage her in sex.

Shortly after Polly flew home to stay with her mother, she quickly left again. While her parents were unable to provide their teenage daughter with the emotional support she needed – and craved – they were able to assist financially. With her father’s help, Polly enrolled in high school, honed her talents as a flutist and rented an apartment with roommates.

A remarkable woman, a mother of a large family, opened her heart and home to Polly. The woman became a mentor, helped Polly recover from her childhood trauma and confirmed that she deserved love and acceptance.

“My journey showed me how important it is that we provide homeless youth with access to caring, supportive adults; affordable or free housing; and programs that teach basic living skills,” says Polly. “I joined the Youth HOPE Month partner community to show youth they are not alone and raise awareness of the homeless youth crisis in our country.” 

Polly hopes to share her story with high school students as part of her Youth HOPE Month efforts. She hopes that by speaking up that she will make a difference in the lives of young people.

After retiring from a career in music publishing, today, Polly lives in Asheville, North Carolina, with her husband, and has a good relationship with her two adult children. Her unpublished memoir, “A Minor, Unaccompanied: Memoir of a Teen Musician’s Odyssey,” won Memoir Magazine’s 2022 coming-of-age Memoir Prize for Books. Her work is published in Newsweek, The Sun and numerous journals, and she is a producer of nationally syndicated programs Radio Health Journal and Viewpoints.