SAN ANTONIO – They have been abused, manipulated, exploited and trafficked.
Now, there's a new place to heal dedicated just to them.
On Wednesday, Roy Maas Youth Alternative opened La Puerta, an emergency shelter for sex trafficked children.
"My story starts with child sexual abuse, and that abuse launched me on a journey of self-destruction," said child sex trafficking survivor Allison Franklin.
A homeless runaway at 12 years old, Franklin said men began to prey on her.
"I was gang trafficked for nearly a decade in Houston, Texas. I started getting wrapped up in the criminal justice system," Franklin said.
After her 9th felony arrest for taking drug charges for her trafficker, Franklin was finally led to services that addressed the root cause. By then, she was in her 30s.
When Franklin sees the new La Puerta shelter, she thinks of hope, healing and happiness. It is something that wasn't available when she was a child.
"I often think how different my life would be today if I, at 12 years old, knew of someplace I could go, even just for basic needs," Franklin said.
At La Puerta, there are counseling offices, a resource center, a classroom, a family room and a big backyard.
Half of the 16 bedrooms in the shelter are for boys. Here's a statistic that many people do not know about: 40 percent of sex trafficking victims are boys.
"It's so great to see a place like this that addresses those needs and acknowledges that this is a vulnerable population," Franklin said.
Franklin cut the ribbon to La Puerta on Wedneday, opening the shelter for children who are ready to define themselves by their future, instead of their past.
Private donors paid for the building's renovation. A grant given in October by the governor's office pays for the shelter's services and upkeep.
The governor's office is spreading about $18 million worth of federal grant money among centers for trafficking victims throughout the state.
They are two-year grants that the organizations can reapply for in the future.
That is music to Franklin's ears, since she is now advocating for trafficking victims and training law enforcement on state and national levels.