FINDING A PLACE IN THE STORY OF RESTORATION
- 14 minutes ago
- 5 min read
By Shauna Storey, COO of NightLight International
I didn’t set out looking for anti-trafficking work. Like many people, my introduction to human trafficking struck as something that was both heartbreaking and hard to comprehend. I remember (way back in 2009!) sitting in a breakout session at a conference in Waco, TX, hearing a team of people talk about their work with human trafficking victims. I didn’t have language for it yet, but I was shocked that something so deeply unjust was happening. I remember thinking, This can’t be real… and if it is, what am I supposed to do about it?
For a while, my understanding was limited. It felt heartbreaking, distant, and overwhelming. What kind of response was someone like me supposed to have? What did I have to offer in the face of something so dark and (seemingly) far away? I didn’t have training in any related field. The problem itself felt geographically, culturally, and practically distant.
But in the tension between compassion and uncertainty, I pressed into learning. Before long, I began to realize that trafficking wasn’t just something that happened “over there.” It happened everywhere. It happened in my community. I began realizing that trafficking wasn’t just a distant crisis. It was something I could move toward even where I was.
As I read articles and books, attended events and seminars, and connected with others who were also seeking ways to respond, a path began to unfold. The steps of learning led to steps of connecting, and four years later, I received a phone call from someone I’d never met before. She was in the process of starting a branch of an anti-trafficking organization in my hometown, and she wanted to talk. I remember thinking, Wait… this is something I could actually step into. And the organization? It was NightLight.
A VISION BIGGER THAN ONE PLACE
As NightLight opened its branch in Missouri, everything began to click into place. The work that had always felt far away was suddenly right here. In my state. In my community. What felt unactionable started to become actionable. And what drew me in wasn’t just the need. It was the vision.
For seven years prior to this moment, NightLight had already been building something powerful in Bangkok, Thailand: a business designed not just to generate income but to create pathways for restoration. Women coming out of exploitation and trafficking were finding dignity, stability, and healing through meaningful work. It was a model that honored their stories and created real opportunities for new ones. It was a model that incorporated components of my background with anti-trafficking work: business!
Not only was this model effective, but it was a beautiful answer to the scope and scale of trafficking. Human trafficking is a global problem, and it invites a global response. Through something as simple and powerful as shopping and sharing, people from anywhere could participate in these stories of restoration. They could help sustain the work, help multiply it, and help be a part of addressing the global realities of trafficking. From anywhere.
As NightLight expanded to Missouri, what began as one dream in Bangkok became two. When the Missouri branch opened in 2012, it introduced outreach, intervention, and restoration services to survivors here. By 2016, it had become the marketing and distribution hub for products made in Bangkok, and created a tangible connection between women across the world.
I will never forget the face of the first woman I spoke with here in Missouri who felt trapped by her circumstances, and I will never forget her tears at the hope our interactions brought her. This wasn’t just about “somewhere else” anymore. These were women in my own community, rebuilding, healing, starting again.
BUILDING SOMETHING THAT CONNECTS US
As NightLight’s presence in Missouri has grown, so has the vision. The freedom business begun in Bangkok has always been a powerful tool for intervention and restoration. How might our growing vision in Missouri allow this model to bring about new avenues for restoration here?
That question has stayed with us for years. It’s sparked ideas, conversations, and dreams for how job training and employment related to NightLight Collection could become part of restoration for survivors locally, just like it does in Bangkok. And in 2025, we took a step toward that vision.
The opening of Isara boutique in Missouri wasn’t just about a storefront. It was about creating space for growth, experimentation, and new opportunities. It was about continuing to build something that connects women across oceans in a shared story of restoration. It’s about women in Bangkok helping create opportunities for women in Missouri, women in Missouri helping expand opportunities for women in Bangkok, and people all over the world stepping in through their purchases, generosity, and voices to multiply that impact.
That’s a picture that still stops me. I am captured by the beauty of it, the interconnectedness of it, and the reminder that none of us are as far removed as we might think.
A GLOBAL PROBLEM, AND A GLOBAL RESPONSE
There’s no way around it: the scale of trafficking is overwhelming. But so is the scale of what’s possible when people choose to engage. My story was about discovering that there was a place for me in the larger story of restoration, and stepping into it. That’s not an experience reserved for a few people with specific backgrounds or expertise. It’s for you, too!
WAYS TO STEP IN
If you’re wondering what it could practically look like to step into this work of pushing back against the darkness of trafficking–of sustaining and multiplying stories of restoration–we have a few simple (and powerful) ideas for you. Consider starting with one of these.
Shop and share. Products from NightLight Collection directly support the women creating them. Sharing their stories multiplies that impact. Shop at any time at nightlightcollection.com, or (if you’re local to Springfield, MO) stop by Isara Boutique!
Host a NightLight Collection Pop-up. Hosting a pop-up in your community is one of the most powerful ways to engage others. Host at a home, church, workplace, community space–anywhere! (Add to the fun: Team up with friends and share the project!)
Give. Financial partnership—whether through a one-time gift or ongoing support—fuels the work in both practical and lasting ways. Ongoing support is an especially important strategy that enables us to best plan and steward the work. To give specifically to sustainability and growth of NightLight’s freedom business efforts, visit donate.nightlightinternational.com and select the program NightLight Design/NightLight Collection.
Stay connected. Follow along, listen, learn, and respond to needs as they arise. Awareness can grow into meaningful action over time. Subscribe here.
If you had told me years ago what this journey would become, I’m not sure I would have believed you. But I’m so grateful I didn’t stay on the sidelines. What once felt distant has become deeply personal and meaningful. And what once felt overwhelming has become an invitation to be part of something stunningly redemptive. Join us!
