The Dr. Lois Lee Show

Part 2: In this episode of The Dr. Lois Lee Show, Alex shares her journey through exploitation, survival, and recovery — and the reality that healing is not a straight path.
Alex began being exploited at just 13 years old after running away and surviving on the streets in Miami. After being located by the FBI through an anonymous tip, she was connected to Children of the Night and flown to Los Angeles.
While at the Children of the Night shelter home, Alex experienced safety and support — but like many youth, the pull of the streets and the effects of trauma made it difficult to stay. She ran multiple times and returned to dangerous situations across different cities.
Her story reflects several patterns often seen in exploitation: recruitment through people she knew, including at one point a female exploiter, ongoing instability, and cycles of progress followed by setbacks.
Alex speaks openly about how her sense of normal had been shaped by survival, and how long it took to rebuild a different understanding of relationships.
After years of struggle, including addiction and periods of instability, Alex found her way back to recovery. Today, she has been sober for three years. She is an insurance agent and the mother of twin girls and an 8-year-old boy.
Her story is a powerful reminder that healing can take time, support, and many second chances — and that consistent, long-term care can make all the difference.
⸻
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.

In this episode of The Dr. Lois Lee Show, Alex shares her journey through exploitation, survival, and recovery — and the reality that healing is not a straight path.
Alex began being exploited at just 13 years old after running away and surviving on the streets in Miami. After being located by the FBI through an anonymous tip, she was connected to Children of the Night and flown to Los Angeles.
While at the Children of the Night shelter home, Alex experienced safety and support — but like many youth, the pull of the streets and the effects of trauma made it difficult to stay. She ran multiple times and returned to dangerous situations across different cities.
Her story reflects several patterns often seen in exploitation: recruitment through people she knew, including at one point a female exploiter, ongoing instability, and cycles of progress followed by setbacks.
Alex speaks openly about how her sense of normal had been shaped by survival, and how long it took to rebuild a different understanding of relationships.
After years of struggle, including addiction and periods of instability, Alex found her way back to recovery. Today, she has been sober for three years. She is an insurance agent and the mother of twin girls and an 8-year-old boy.
Her story is a powerful reminder that healing can take time, support, and many second chances — and that consistent, long-term care can make all the difference.
⸻
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.

In this episode of The Dr. Lois Lee Show, Silvia reflects on her journey from exploitation as a minor to becoming a mother determined to create a different future for her children.
Silvia was arrested as a minor in the Dallas area in 2008. At the time, authorities knew who to call — Children of the Night in Los Angeles. She was flown to the organization’s 24-bed shelter home, where she experienced something many exploited youth have never known: safety, structure, and consistent support.
While living at the home, Silvia earned her GED, began practicing meditation, and reconnected with her faith. She even participated in the Los Angeles County Science Fair, where she placed third — a moment that showed her what was possible when stability and encouragement were present.
Like many young people, Silvia struggled with the desire for independence. She eventually left the shelter home with another girl. Not long after, the life found her again. Promised work, she instead found herself exploited by a man who sent her by Greyhound bus back to Texas.
Silvia remained in that situation until becoming pregnant with her first child — a turning point that began shifting her path.
Throughout the years, Children of the Night remained present in Silvia’s life, offering guidance and support whenever she reached back out.
Today, Silvia is the mother of five children, with her oldest now 13. Her story reflects a reality often overlooked: leaving exploitation is rarely a straight path. Healing and stability often take time, support, and multiple chances.
⸻
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.

In this episode of The Dr. Lois Lee Show, Ashley shares a lived experience that reflects a common but often misunderstood entry point into prostitution: recruitment through trusted relationships.
Exploitation rarely begins with a dramatic abduction. More often, it begins with instability, unmet needs, and someone familiar offering connection or escape.
At 16, Ashley was navigating multiple foster placements after a family crisis involving her paternal grandmother. When conflict escalated and police became involved, Ashley ran to her sister for safety. Although her sister ultimately helped remove her from immediate danger, she was unable to take legal responsibility for Ashley long-term.
Ashley was returned to the foster care system. On her first night back, there was no placement available. She slept on the floor of a services office and relied on convenience food — a stark example of the instability many youth experience.
This lack of stability created vulnerability. As with many prostituted youth, exploitation did not begin with force — it began with unmet needs and trust.
Children of the Night became the turning point.
From aging out of foster care while pregnant to rebuilding stability and hope, Ashley’s journey highlights the importance of long-term, trauma-informed support. Rescue alone is not enough. Consistent advocacy, education, and presence are what shift outcomes.
Ashley’s story underscores a critical truth: when systems leave gaps, exploitation moves in. When support steps in, healing becomes possible.
⸻
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.

In Episode 22 of The Dr. Lois Lee Show, Giselle shares her story of perseverance, health challenges, and the kind of long-term support that changes lives.
Giselle participated in last year’s Children of the Night graduation — a milestone that marked not just academic progress, but years of resilience. Today, she is facing renal failure and is waiting for a kidney donor. During dialysis treatments, Children of the Night flew case managers out to be with her — a reminder that support does not end after a program is completed.
In this conversation, Giselle speaks candidly about what many people misunderstand: recovery from exploitation does not happen in 14 days. Healing is not a short-term intervention. Survivors need consistent guidance, advocacy, and sometimes lifelong support to rebuild stability and confidence.
Despite her health challenges, Giselle is determined to complete her education and pursue work in the medical field — inspired in part by her own experiences navigating the healthcare system.
This episode underscores a core belief of Children of the Night: rescue is the beginning. Long-term care, education, and presence are what sustain hope and create lasting change.
⸻
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.

In this episode of The Dr. Lois Lee Show, McKinzie shares how resilience, support, and intentional parenting helped her break a generational cycle of trauma and exploitation.
As a child, McKinzie grew up in a chaotic home where boundaries were blurred and safety was uncertain. She describes how isolation, mental health struggles, and instability shaped her early years. Eventually, running from an unsafe environment led her into further harm.
As a minor, she was located by the FBI and placed in a group home before being connected to Children of the Night. There, she experienced structure, consistent care, and the opportunity to begin understanding her mental health and her worth.
McKinzie reflects on what it meant to feel like a child in a safe environment for the first time.
Later, during a period of addiction, learning she was pregnant became a turning point. She chose sobriety. She built stability. She created a home of her own. Today, she is a devoted mother of two who is determined to parent differently than she was raised.
Dr. Lois Lee also discusses the organization’s monthly parenting program, designed to help mothers protect their children — educating them without overwhelming them, creating safety without secrecy.
McKinzie’s message to policymakers is direct: exploitation begins long before a child reaches the streets. Youth who are exploited are not disposable. They are capable, intelligent, and often desperately seeking a way out. Empathy, early intervention, and sustained support make the difference.
Her story is one of interruption — of choosing a different legacy for her children.
⸻
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.

In Part 2 of Katie’s story, The Dr. Lois Lee Show explores how generational trauma develops — and what it takes to interrupt it.
 
Katie shares her lived experience of exploitation and survival, offering a clear look at how cycles of harm are passed down when children grow up without protection, education, or consistent support. Her story underscores a critical truth: exploitation does not happen in isolation. It is rooted in neglect, abuse, poverty, and the absence of safe adults and stable systems.
 
But just as trauma can repeat across generations, healing can too.
 
Dr. Lois Lee reflects on how early intervention, education, and long-term mentorship change outcomes for exploited and at-risk youth. When children are believed, supported, and given access to learning, their trajectory can shift — not only for them, but for their children as well.
 
How Education and Long-Term Support Make the Difference
 
Since 2017, Children of the Night has no longer operated a residential shelter. Today, the organization focuses on the long-term needs survivors identify as most critical for stability and independence, including:
•Online GED tutoring for youth pushed out of traditional schooling
•Educational scholarships for survivors and, in some cases, their children
•Ongoing advocacy, mentorship, and academic support that restores agency and opportunity
 
Education is more than a credential. It is a pathway out of exploitation, a foundation for independence, and one of the strongest tools for preventing trauma from repeating across generations.
 
Katie’s story is honest, difficult, and deeply important. It is also a testament to what becomes possible when society chooses sustained support over silence.
 
Listener note: This episode discusses sensitive topics, including exploitation and trauma. Please take care while listening.
⸻
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.

Katie’s story shows how trauma can repeat across generations when systems fail to protect children early — and how long-term support can change that outcome.
As a child, Katie experienced serious harm that went unaddressed. Years later, when her own child was hurt, she refused to let silence and fear take over. With advocacy and support from Children of the Night, Katie was able to protect her child and navigate an overwhelming moment that too many families face alone.
Katie first connected with Children of the Night as a teenager after experiencing exploitation and violence. Through education, stability, and continued support — even after setbacks — she found her way forward.
Today, Katie is a mother, a professional, and living proof that healing is possible when care doesn’t end at rescue. This episode explores how unhealed trauma often repeats itself — and how sustained, trauma-informed support can break the cycle for future generations.
⸻
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.

In Memory of Deborah Hardman A hero of the streets—and the daughter who survived the cost. Morgan Hardman speaks candidly with Dr. Lois Lee about a childhood shaped by chaos, trauma, and survival.
Raised in and out of alternative homes, Morgan confronts the painful realities of abuse, blurred boundaries, and learning far too early the difference between “good” and “bad” touch. She shares her journey toward forgiveness—recognizing how the dangerous men in her life mirrored the complexities of her relationship with her mother.
Morgan also reflects on being thrust into public roles at a young age, and the moment Dr. Lois Lee intervened to save her from a pimp attempting to traffic her in another city.
In this powerful conversation, Dr. Lee also introduces the Children of the Night Alumni Committee, which provides scholarships for alumni, their children, and future generations. Raw, unfiltered, and deeply human, this episode is a story of survival, reckoning, and the long road to healing.
⸻
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.

Dr. Lois Lee talks with Teri Weigel about LAPD missing the first opportunity to catch the Hillside Stranglers.
Teri, who lived next door to Kenneth Bianchi (one of the stranglers) shares her mom’s story of witnessing Kenneth Bianchi and his cousin Angleo Buono carry Kimberly Martin’s body, while she’s still alive, through the underground parking.
⸻
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.