Episode #42 - Katey (Pt 2/2)

Part two continues Dr. Lois Lee's conversation with Katey — from the choice she made not to testify against the men who trafficked her, to the winding path through foster care, a broken reunion with her father, and the healing she's found on the other side.

In this episode:

• Why Katey chose not to testify against the gang that exploited her, and how that decision shapes the vigilance she has with her own kids today
  Her take on what the country could actually do to protect kids like her — starting with accountability at the top, not just enforcement at the bottom
• What safety felt like for the first time in years: sleeping through the night without fear, and being able to just be a kid again
• The one thing she would have changed about the shelter's rules — and why Dr. Lee explains those rules existed to keep kids safe from recruiters
• A painful detour: reconnecting with her father, a broken custody bid, and a lie-detector test that left her unable to pursue charges against him
• Six months on the streets, a friend she brought home before "one of us was going to end up dead," and the social worker who helped her find stable foster care
• How she describes what happened to her now — grooming, abuse — versus how she saw it as a kid: "That was just our childhood"
• Her advice to young people in the situation she was once in: "If you want change, you have to be the change"
• What she'd say to eight-year-old Katey, and her message to anyone watching who's still in it: "We do heal. We do come back, and life is beautiful again."

⸻

Listen Now:

🎧 New episodes weekly on Spotify, YouTube, iHeartRadio, Podbean, and wherever you listen. Follow & Support

🌐 Website: childrenofthenight.org

📲 Facebook & Instagram: @childrenofthenight

🕊️ X/Twitter: @LoisLee_COTN

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and share this podcast to help us reach more listeners and protect vulnerable children.