Driving home from New York City in the winter of 1979, Frank Barnaba was forced to pull over due to a heavy snowstorm at a small diner in Woodbridge, Connecticut. Inside the diner, a young woman wearing thick-rimmed glasses, a mink coat and bedroom slippers was sitting at the counter and crying. Frank asked her if she needed help thinking that she was without transportation to get home. However, the help she needed was much greater and soon Frank assumed the role of her savior in a journey that could never have been predicted.
Lisa was an honors student at a local high school in Connecticut and came from a religious and caring family. However, her sheltered upbringing resulted in her naïve nature and she succumbed to the persuasions of a handsome businessman who promised her wealth and happiness. The businessman had different intentions and after he hooked her on cocaine, he hooked her to other men. Shortly thereafter, he “sold” her to the mob in New Haven, Connecticut.
Lisa was crying that night because she had fallen in love with one of the “johns” from the massage parlor where she worked. The “john” had promised her a great life and had even met her parents, both of whom thought well of him. However, the “john” had no intentions of marrying Lisa; he was already married with a family of his own.
Feeling painfully sorry for Lisa and curious about her life in prostitution, Frank asked to meet with her again. She agreed and over the period of nearly a year, Frank and his wife Audrey met with Lisa, trying to help her gain the confidence necessary to escape prostitution and quit drugs. Frank also referred her to a therapist who worked hard to help her gain perspective on her life as well as address her drug dependency.
Frank’s fatherly care and persistence, along with the counseling from the therapist, made a huge difference in Lisa’s life. She enrolled in college and finally decided that she could escape from the massage parlor and the family that controlled her. Unfortunately, Lisa was not discreet about her desire to escape and the night before she was never to return to the parlor again, she was found dead in New Haven from a suspiciously large overdose of cocaine.
Frank and his wife Audrey met with Lisa’s family a few days after her death. He knew that the family had no knowledge about her life or drug habit and he felt an obligation to inform them of what really occurred. The family was devastated and confused and Frank and Audrey spent two days consoling them. By the end of the second day, Lisa’s family encouraged Frank to start a program in Lisa’s honor to help other sexually exploited youth and women. Frank continues to honor Lisa's memory 27 years later.
Sabrina
In the early 1990’s, Sabrina* was one of hundreds of minors trafficked and prostituted under the control of a pimp. Her pimp. Sly, kept a close watch over her. Sabrina met Frank Barnaba on the streets of Manhattan near 1Lisath and 26th Street and took one of his business cards, cleverly hiding it in an empty condom wrapper.
For more than a year, Frank and other outreach staff talked with Sabrina at least twice per week. They brought her soda or hot chocolate and always lent a friendly hand or ear when she needed help. Over time, Sabrina’s self-esteem increased and she began to trust Frank. Finally, she decided to take a leap of faith and entered a transitional living house located in Connecticut. The house allowed Sabrina the escape she needed from her pimp as well as a chance to receive therapeutic counseling and gain job experience.
However, the road to rehabilitation was long and arduous. Sabrina ran back to Sly twice but with the threat to her child's life and Frank's unconditional support, Sabrina escaped victimization at last.
Thirteen years have passed and Sabrina is still grateful for the new life that Frank opened up to her. Despite her occasional struggle with nightmares caused by the victimization she experienced, she holds a successful career and is a mother of several beautiful and happy children.
Susie
Susie* came from an upper middle class family on the Eastern shoreline. As a child, she had parents who loved her but when she was raped at a local fair at the age of twelve, her old-fashioned father turned his back on her. Susie became desperate for love and support from her father but never received it. When a young, attractive man came along who gave her attention, Susie became infatuated. When he introduced her to drugs, Susie thought it was just for a little fun. But soon the fun turned into a serious drug habit and her boyfriend died from an overdose. Susie then became easy prey to a local pimp who promised her drugs.
The local pimp trafficked Susie to seedy streets in New London, Connecticut. For months, Susie who was barely seventeen at the time, was used by men every day and night, wealthy and poor, violent and uncaring, until she suffered a heart attack caused by drug use and stress.
Fortunately the heart attack did not kill Susie and her mother stood by her side despite her father’s lack of support. The mother contacted Mr. Barnaba who offered Susie and her mother support, guidance and help. Susie’s road to recovery went well for nearly a year, in part due to Mr. Barnaba’s referral to a rehabilitation program out west and his unconditional support. A new life for Susie seemed possible until the pimp started to visit her and the father continued to look at her with disgust and disappointment. Susie sucummbed to the stress and tried drugs again. After struggling for several more years, Mr. Barnaba was informed that Susie is clean and doing much better.
* A fictitious name was used to protect the client's identity.
