Overcoming Traumas: a story of survival, recovery, and motherhood

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Brittany is originally from a small town in Washington State. She is a 34 year old mother of six children and lives in Los Angeles California. 

She tested positive for drugs at her birth because her mother was actively using. As a result, she was taken away from her and placed in custody with her uncle and aunt. When she was one and a half years old Brittany was taken away from them by Child Protective Services. It was found out that besides being abused physically by both, she had been sexually abused by her uncle. 

At age of 2, she was adopted by the chief of police of the town and his wife. Brittany calls his adoptive father “my rock” because of the support he has given to her during all her life, despite of differences in opinions at times. When she was 11, her adoptive parents divorced and as it happens, it was a very traumatic for Brittany. To make it worse, she was blamed by her adoptive mother as the cause of the divorce. 

She stayed with her adoptive father for some time. Brittany comments that she had the tendency to hurt herself.  Due to the duties of his adoptive father as a chief of police, there was nobody to look after Brittany during his long shifts. Brittany had to be placed in different foster homes. She was a rebel, at 12 years, she was placed in a treatment facility for difficult children; but she always found the way to run away from them. She escaped the treatment facility and being still a minor, she went to live with an 18-year-old guy. She was using drugs, having sex and doing all sort of things that a 15-year-old should not do. She was found by the police, and she was placed in a foster system, Brittany went to live to a foster home with thepastor of a church and his wife where she did not have time to misbehave, she was always at church. For one year she was with them, her foster parents did everything they could possibly do for her wellbeing, she wrote poetry and a diary to deal with her emotions. 

Brittany was diagnosed with a mental disability and addiction to substances because she was born from a drug addict mother. Then she was placed in an adult foster home where she thought she finally had found the family she was looking for; however, it did not last long, one week after she ran away and met a guy whom she was using drugs and having sex. At 19, she gave birth go her first daughter. 

She was diagnosed with HIV when she was on the 8th month of her third pregnancy. She was put immediately on a very effective treatment and reach viral suppression very quickly, and she was able to deliver a healthy baby boy. Now she has a family of four children living together, her children are negative, healthy strong and beautiful babies.

Brittany practically has gone to hell and come back. She says that she is adherent to her HIV treatment because it represents well being for her kids and herself. 

She is in recovery from substance use and sober for 8 years now. She receives medical care at UCLA with Dr. De Ville. She is going to community college; her goal is to complete higher education and help children and teenagers to overcome their traumas. She is accomplishing what once she was told she was not going to be able to accomplish. 

Brittany’s story is very intense and rough. It includes drug addiction, survival sex work, violence, rape, and sex trafficking. It also includes successes and accomplishments. It’s a story of survival, recovery, and motherhood.

Funding provided by the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) Ending the HIV Epidemic Grant and the County of Los Angeles, Department of Public Health,

This podcast is brought to you by the Los Angeles Family AIDS Network
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