Hard Road And Healing

Trisha has undergone tremendous growth in the past six years and hopes others can heal too.

I was in a nightclub with a girlfriend when a bullet took out the beer bottle on the table next to me and I didn't even flinch. I just was cranky that my shirt had got wet and now I smelled like beer.

By Citizen Correspondent Trisha Baptie , Canada

Date Posted: 01/15/07

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When Trisha Baptie, 33, heard about Orato Media Corporation's plans to hire a sex trade worker to cover the trial of alleged serial killer Robert Pickton, she felt compelled to answer the call. She had heard rumors about some other high profile women being considered for the job, and it prompted her make sure Orato gave the trial the most relevant voice and choose someone who would best represent the fallen women. Trisha herself is a former sex trade worker who worked Vancouver's harsh Downtown Eastside between the ages of 19 and 26, and she counted some of Pickton's alleged victims among her friends. She, like many or most of the other women living in Vancouver's skid row, is a survivor of childhood physical and sexual abuse. Now six years into her recovery and healing, Trisha has experienced what she says can only be described as amazing and miraculous growth. She is hoping that this trial will be handled correctly by the media so that it can be a powerful catalyst for real change in the lives of at-risk women. Trisha believes she can, through covering the trial, help change the way society responds to women in trouble. This is her story.

I have managed to make it to 33, which considering what I have been through and the subject I am covering, is a minor miracle in itself. I have three amazing children and am very blessed to be in the position to do this. I guess in a biography one should start at the beginning.

I grew up in the Lower Mainland in a middle-class family with one brother and one sister and a dad who liked to beat his wife. I remember a lot of transition homes, times of staying with Grandma and always, always living in fear. Times were different back then and laws were different. It was way harder for my Mom to leave my Dad and I don't really recall the police being there for us. I do remember them walking out the door while my mom was sobbing and there were broken lamps and such all over the house. As I said though, times were different.

Eventually my Mom left my Dad, but it involved a very bloody battle between them, with me stuck in the middle, and resulted in my Dad getting dozens of stitches from him putting his hand through the window. Believe it or not, when they separated my Dad was not ordered to leave the house; he was ordered to live downstairs. That can make for fun family dinners!

When my Mom finally left my Dad for good, I was a pre-teen and an emotional disaster. If there was one thing I was, it was angry. My Mom in no way could control me, and I was a danger to her and my siblings. I had a wicked temper and was quickly spiraling out of control.

My Mom was dealing with her own issues, so we were like oil and water.

Comments

Hello Trisha, I have been

By Hazel8500, January 17, 2007 at 12:15

Hello Trisha, I have been looking forward to reading your column. I am so very happy to learn of your victory over addiction, and the wonderful life you have created for yourself out of the ashes of your childhood. I do believe your voice and voices like yours are key to turning around the current environment from which so many are born or lured into.
I wish you the absolute best for your journey.

Most Sincerely,
Hazel Main.

hello trisha,It is an

By Raymond Williams, January 15, 2007 at 11:38

hello trisha,

It is an amazing tale of survival you tell. I wish you continued success on your journey. I have lived in and through the Main & Hastings war zone myself, and notice that people don't realize that it is a community, alive and vibrant as any. The horrors that unleased on some, are tragic. I am glad you have stepped forth bravely to share your story. :)

Seems to me, when things

By Heather Wallace, January 16, 2007 at 20:12

Seems to me, when things happen at such a young age, kids just go running the other direction. That direction often leads down a hard path, and we are all responsible for not catching kids. I'm sorry you had to go through these things Trisha, but I'm so glad you came through the other side.

Heather Wallace
Senior Editor

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Hello Trisha, I have been

hello trisha,It is an

Seems to me, when things

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