Brenda Myers-Powell and Stephanie Daniels-Wilson came together in 2008 to form The Dreamcatcher Foundation: a survivor-led organization to fight human trafficking in Chicago. Between them, they have almost a half a century on the street. Brenda, who was a prostitute for 25 years beginning at age 14, works towards the foundation’s goal of eradicating sexual exploitation in Chicago, while also working for the FBI as a victim’s specialist. Stephanie, meanwhile, serves as the foundation’s CEO. The Dreamcatcher Foundation fights human trafficking by going directly to those being exploited and prides itself on being survivor-led and focused. The award-winning documentary Dreamcatcher, recently shown at the CMU International Film Festival, catalogs their life-changing work. It was before this showing that we were able to sit down together for the following interview.
Interviewer: “Do you think the film Dreamcatcher accurately portrayed your cause well?”
Stephanie: “Absolutely. Nothing was scripted. It would be a surprise if nothing similar to that happened in our day. I don’t think you could portray anything closer to reality.”
Interviewer: “What do you think of other documentaries that portray prostitution? That interview women still in that lifestyle?”
Brenda: “That’s the story that I was angry about. That’s the story that so many people were telling. They weren’t telling the part about when a woman got killed, who buried her? Who took care of her children? Who took responsibility?….Was she a mother? Was she an auntie? Was she somebody’s sister? Who cared about her? These are the stories that aren’t being told. And that’s the story I wanted Dreamcatcher to tell. I wanted to tell a story to make them human. Not to make them whores and prostitutes….How did a little girl who was in school one day decide that she was going to be a prostitute? “
Interviewer: “What about big Hollywood portrayals like Pretty Woman? Where the woman is a prostitute who finds her true love with a client?”
Brenda: “I’ve been shot 5 times. I’ve been stabbed 13 times…by handsome men–big people who came around and said they were there to take me away from all this. Pretty Woman is one of the most beautiful and horrible stories because it makes other girls think that ‘maybe I can find my Richard Geer out there’…because we think that we are going to find someone to take us away. But it’s not like that.”
Interviewer: “What do you think, then, about the idea of legalizing prostitution?”
Brenda: “Anything could happen to you and they[men] have full control. That’s why it’s so odd for people to say ‘Well if we control that and it was legalized, don’t you think….[it would be safe]?’ Once a woman gets into a car, a hotel, or anything with a man, there’s nothing you can do, nothing the police can do because once he get’s his hands around my neck…once he decides what he wants to do it me, it’s done. Now you might get them to identify the body, or maybe to arrest him, but you can’t save me. The only person who can save me is God at that time.”
Interviewer: “How many women make it through your program?”
Brenda: “Since 2007, we have reached out to over 3,500 women…what does reach out mean? It means we’ve given them services such as toiletry bags, condoms, food cards, clothing, and referrals. Those are short-term things that we have done for them. We also have 35-40 women who we see on a regular basis…The number actually rescued, as in they are doing well in their lives and are out of prostitution, is 85. This does not include those that have gone through the program successfully and have been hired by us as peer coordinators.”
Interviewer: “Many people have commented that they felt uncomfortable watching the ex-pimp, Homer, in your employment talk to young girls. Even though he was sexually abused as a child, he garnered little sympathy in reviews. What would you say to them in response?”
Brenda: “Homer came to us many years ago…He said I’d love to help with the human trafficking…To give back to so much damage he had caused. He helped get other pimps to talk to me so that we could come up with very good information. That’s what we need. We need more information on how to battle this… But, he had to prove himself before he got with us. He was just volunteering – talked to young men, young boys, and he also talked to young girls so that they could identify what a pimp looks like. We needed a male on the van–a male that knew the streets. But he had to earn what he got from us. Imagine coming from where he comes from: controlling and exploiting women. And now he has two women bosses! Who. Don’t. Play. He is really passionate about this. He is on our outreach team. And he gets results.”
Stephanie: “There were so many times that I was like ‘Get rid of him. I can’t do it.’ And she [Brenda] said something really important. He is a victim too, and that’s not what we do. We help victims. Just because he was a male, it doesn’t make any difference. And I heard that and I’m so glad that I did because now he is such a valuable part of the organization.”
Interviewer: “Besides bringing Homer onto the team, how is The Dreamcatcher Foundation keeping ahead of the issues facing your community?”
Stephanie: “We are seeing more transgender people out there, so we have a transgender staff member now [who is a survivor]. And that’s what we are doing. We are looking to hire more survivors. That’s what this organization is about – giving people like this a chance where they otherwise wouldn’t have had one. Who in the world would hire Homer the pimp? What skills does he have? But Dreamcatcher can hire him and make a difference.”
Brenda: “One of the things that has to happen, if we want to eliminate human trafficking, is we have to include the men. We have to work with the Johns [the clients]. They are sick also with issues. They think that women are not valuable.”
Interviewer: “Brenda, your positivity throughout all your work is something that I have come to admire. Where does your outlook come from?”
Brenda: “I believe in turning negative around to positive. That everyone has a purpose, because it’s not one person’s fault. It’s not the women’s fault. If there wasn’t a demand there wouldn’t be a supply. If there wasn’t a huge demand for young women, would there be a supply? No. The demand comes first. We are always looking at the woman or the child saying ‘What’s their problem?’ No. What’s his problem? Why is he buying sex outside his relationships? Why is he in my marginalized community, a low income community, a black community, a Hispanic community, driving away from his suburban home picking up these young girls? That’s an issue that lawmakers need to start focusing on.”
Stephanie: “The plan for Homer is for him to head a man’s program, to create another branch of the organization for men. Because like she said, the men need education too – on how not to become these predators.”
Interviewer: “Out of all these people you work with, men and women, what is the story that you take the most pride in?”
Brenda: “Oh, there are so many. Including some on our website.”
Stephanie: “She [pointing to a photo] goes to University of Springfield–she was in our after school program. Everybody in her neighborhood got babies, dropped out or something, but she fought through the jungle. You ask me who I’m the most proud of? That’s mine.”
To find out more about The Dreamcatcher Foundation’s work, please visit their website by clicking here. And watch the documentary on Showtime or Netflix.