SAN ANTONIO – Four women left behind their old life of prostitution, drug abuse and jail time when they graduated from the Esparanza Court Program on Friday.
"I stand here today a very blessed woman, no longer addicted to heroin and no need to sell my body for money," said Adriana, a graduate of the program.
The four women are only the second class to graduate from the program.
The Esperanza Court Program is a specialty treatment court for individuals with multiple prostitution convictions. The program was created in 2014.
The graduates have to endure about 2.5 years of intense rehab. They're also provided with a range of health and social services.
"They're drug free. They're no longer reoffending. They're reunited with their families. They're living on their own in housing. They provide with their own money, and they are being mentors in the community," Judge Lorina Rummel said.
Graduates of the program admitted their old life of drugs and prostitution wasn't what they had envisioned for themselves, but instead was the result of the hand they had been dealt.
"A lot of us were 'victims of sex trafficking' and then it led us to prostitution, so it put us on the corner," graduate Carol Gutierrez said.
Many plan on continuing their education, as well as supporting others in similar situations.
"You can get the help that you need," Gutierrez said. "There's organizations that they can go to if they have the desire and you're sick and tired of being sick and tired."