Sonoma County women assist human trafficking survivors on their path to healing

By Sharon Chin

Two Sonoma County survivors of human trafficking are empowering other women on their own paths to healing.

Lisa Diaz-McQuaid and Elizabeth Quiroz walk alongside trafficking survivors seeking hope and healing.

“Our past doesn’t define who we are today, or what our future holds for us,” said Diaz-McQuaid.

California remains one of the top states for human trafficking, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Quiroz grew up with alcohol abuse in the family’s home and got exploited for drugs and sex as an adult. She ended up in prison, and her infant son inspired her to change.

“I didn’t want my son to go through what I went through,” she said. “I wanted my son to have a fighting chance.”

Quiroz turned her life around, then set out to help other trafficking survivors.

“They don’t always have that hope or they don’t always believe in themselves,” she explained.

She shared her story in college, and Diaz-McQuaid heard it.

“And that’s when I had that ‘Aha’ moment,” Diaz-McQuaid said. “‘Oh my gosh, this woman is sharing my story,’ in a sense.”

Diaz-McQuaid, who endured child sexual abuse, was drug-addicted and trafficked before incarceration prompted her rehabilitation.

Quiroz and Diaz-McQuaid bonded over their shared trauma and vision. They founded Redemption House of the Bay Area in 2018. It’s served nearly 500 trafficking survivors over the last five years.

“It’s redemption. That’s what it is,” Quiroz said. “When survivors are overcoming obstacles, they’re reclaiming their lives, and being productive members of society. They’re being moms, they’re being wives, whatever goals they’re reaching for.”

The Santa Rosa-based nonprofit hosts confidential support circles, in person and online. At trafficking hotspots in Sonoma County and throughout the Bay Area, they hand out donated purses filled with hygiene products and information to find help. They offer blankets, clothes, shoes, and financial support for food, gas and utilities.

Quiroz and Diaz-McQuaid emphasize love and understanding for the survivor when they give presentations for schools, prisons, law enforcement and other community groups.

“I never want to come to anybody or anybody come to us that felt like they’re being judged in any kind of way,” Diaz-McQuaid said.

Kathryn Watson came to Redemption House as a survivor of drug and sex trafficking. She’s now a program manager for a small shelter, grateful for Diaz-McQuaid’s and Quiroz’s mentorship in her recovery journey.

“For so long, I thought that I was broken and unlovable and really, it was that I needed to be able to love myself,” Watson said. “They taught me that I am worthy of a better life.”

Both Diaz-McQuaid and Quiroz are inspirations to the women they serve. Quiroz is a program manager for an interim shelter for unhoused and high-risk people. Diaz-McQuaid is the lead human trafficking case worker for Sonoma County’s only sexual assault prevention, intervention and healing center.

The pair also serve on the Sonoma County Human Trafficking Task Force.

At Redemption House of the Bay Area, the two co-founders are working toward opening a safe house – a residential program with wraparound services. Their annual fundraiser is in October at a Santa Rosa winery.

“We’re on this journey to empower, encourage and support other survivors,” Diaz-McQuaid said.

Quiroz added, “They can be whatever they put their minds to, and use their experiences to give others hope.”