A Native American Story-Sara

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:02]All right, Sarah.

[00:00:03]>> Yes, >> Sarah. Where are you from originally?

[00:00:06]Where'd you grow up?

[00:00:07]>> Um, in California. Well, I grew up in Arizona when I got kidnapped, but I remember I used to live we used to live in here in California.

[00:00:14]>> You were kidnapped when what age?

[00:00:16]>> In ' 92. The first one I was kidnapped when there was like I think there was like a small like like um like a small earthquake or something here in '92. And I remember like after that day, I never found my parents like after that.

[00:00:31]>> Where how did they get you?

[00:00:33]>> U my family. I was like just like after the earthquake like I was just kind of like scattered around like my family was we going back to our house like our house was like damaged and couldn't find my family. I don't know where they went.

[00:00:45]>> Your your mom was on drugs.

[00:00:47]>> Um then my mom was like on drugs and um >> was your dad around?

[00:00:52]>> My dad was not in my life. M >> I had a stepdad but he he really Jesus came here here and there but he was he never he never really was in my life.

[00:01:03]>> So this who kid who who kidnapped you?

[00:01:06]>> Um see when the family came to my came to me they told me that they were my dad. They told me that they were my dad but I don't know if that was my dad like he he seemed like he wasn't my dad like >> And you were young.

[00:01:21]>> Yeah. You said you were six, I think.

[00:01:24]>> Yeah. Um I was already in the um in the um in the CPS um I was already in the CPS um system and I was already adopted by by my grandparents already, but my I still live with my mom, but my mom was like only acceptable. He went like on the weekends.

[00:01:45]So, um >> Do you think it was somebody that knew knew of your story? What was that?

[00:01:53]>> They knew of your background.

[00:01:54]>> Yeah.

[00:01:55]>> And there's they figured you were a good candidate to steal >> something like it. Yeah. That's what I figured like when I got older I figured out my life story. I was I remembered I remember I was stolen and you know um it was like twice that I was stolen. Then in ' 97 another one this family came to that family that already had me that had already stole me. They came to ask for ask permission if they can take temporary custody over me and that that family allowed it but they just didn't know why like cuz it was like three guys that all of a sudden came to ask for me and it was weird because I was worried cuz like there was no mother like there was no you know there's no woman with the family but and they kept begging me and begging me and so finally you know I just say yes and they take me they adopt me temporary custody for school but when I got to their house. It was like they just kept, you know, sexually like having sex with me every day, every night. And then >> And you were how old?

[00:02:57]>> I was like at that time I was like probably like nine at that time. The second one in um I I didn't feel I would when I when times went times were going longer for school, I wouldn't I wasn't concentrating for school. So it was half of the school year by the time I just like got tired of them doing that to me.

[00:03:18]So, I ran away from that family and it was they wouldn't let me go. Like they they kept when I went to that house, they told me that there was no looking back. They were like they were my new family.

[00:03:30]>> Were they Was there a mother in in that?

[00:03:32]>> Oh, when we went to the house, yeah, there was supposedly there um there was a lady there that then um there was like girls at the house, but then the girls like stay to themselves.

[00:03:42]Did the boys were the only one, you know? Um >> were there other kids?

[00:03:46]>> Yeah, there were other kids. Yeah.

[00:03:48]They were younger kids, but it was like um see like four four younger kids. But it was so weird cuz when I got to the house like there was like one certain little boy. He was like 6 years old. I remember when I got there and I remember trying to tell him to read to get to read a book and he brings a pornography like a porn book out to me and I and I tell him to put it away but he just kept you know it was normal for him to read that. I don't think his parents knew about it, but I tried telling him to. I don't want to.

[00:04:20]>> Not that it matters, but what nationality was this family or this group of people?

[00:04:25]>> I believe they were like Native American.

[00:04:28]>> Oh, really?

[00:04:29]>> Yeah.

[00:04:29]>> Are you Native American as well?

[00:04:31]>> Um I'm Native American. Yeah. Um I think my Well, I knew my as far as I know my mom was Hispanic and I don't know if like I don't I really don't know. My dad's like I think he was like native. I'm not sure. But a lot of times they always tell me that I look native, but I'm not. I'm not.

[00:04:49]>> How far did you in school? Did you go to school?

[00:04:51]>> Um I went to school um I wasn't supposed to be going to school. I was supposed to go to like, you know, when I was here in California with my with my family. I was um I didn't go to school. I stayed home with my parents. Um, I remember like I wasn't allowed to go to school cuz I was like, um, how should you say I was like dis I was like disabled. Like I remember I had a I had I used to have hearing aids in my ears but later on when I went with that family like they like they kept you know the second family kept making fun of me so I just got rid of it later on and I slowly kind of got you know I'm still deaf right now but on one side but I can hear like I just it's like a lot of like like what what or you know but I don't really use my um herinades that much anymore. How how long were you with this family?

[00:05:46]>> I was with that family for like let me see it was nine 10 11 12. I was only with them for like 3 years but then they kept coming back to hurt me like they kept trying to get me back and they kept kidnapping me and I remember I first made my first baby at 14 because thinking that if I make a family and if I have a relationship they're not going to bother me. But they still kept even though that didn't stop them from from take trying to get me back. They still kept trying to fight for me. Like and when I had my first baby, they still came to hurt me. They still, you know, they kidnapped me, took me back to that. But I ran away from them. I went back to my to this local church where I stayed at and to >> You said you had children.

[00:06:33]>> Yeah. And that I had one I had one child and and so >> How old were you when you had your first? 14.

[00:06:40]>> 14.

[00:06:41]>> Yeah.

[00:06:43]>> And I never went back to my family because, you know, I couldn't find him.

[00:06:46]Every time I come back to California, I would always come to Skid Road trying to look for my mom. Like I don't because there's only so much there's always so many people down on Skidro. Like just different people. So I don't know. We try to go back to the house where where we used to live. And then so years went by and I know I couldn't keep going back to that same house cuz you know, like I don't know who could live there. So I would always just look on Skidro for her like with nothing like I couldn't find.

[00:07:11]>> So do you have any any real family that you can go to?

[00:07:14]>> No.

[00:07:15]>> Not to this day like um my my mom only had like a grandma that that lived on on the other side on United Kingdom. That's the only family that I know like that I have. But that was her grandma though. I don't know if she probably passed away by now.

[00:07:32]>> Is your mom around? My mom um last thing I know she was like last thing I know like the social worker got a hold of me later on when I was in Arizona. They tried to um they tried to get me back over here to California to her but they told me she was in prison.

[00:07:51]So I couldn't like I couldn't come back right away to her. So they told me that they told me they had to go through the system in order to come to get back to my mom. I had to like be like and I had to be doing well with a with a certain individual like somebody like mainly close relative. I didn't have no close relative in Arizona. So the only people I could possibly think of was like you know this the last family that um adopted me is like my grandparents but then they passed away and the only living one was their child and that's who I went to.

[00:08:24]And so you have one child >> and now uh right now I have four kids.

[00:08:29]>> You have four kids?

[00:08:30]>> Yeah.

[00:08:30]>> Did you parent any of them?

[00:08:33]>> Yeah, I I parent I parent them.

[00:08:36]So when you were you first one >> when I first had my first baby ever since then I dropped out of school and I later finished school like later on like when I was like 25 I finally finished my school but um yeah for kids now >> and what are you doing now?

[00:08:57]>> Right now um I mean I'm not I'm not I'm just like you know came to go back to California. I'm trying to like get my get my life back together, but like it seems like I have like I seems I'm so scared. Like I seem like that family's going to get me again.

[00:09:14]Like I I I seems like I I see a lot of them like a lot lately. Everywhere I go, it seems like there's somebody like somebody just right there like just trying to tell me to go with them, but I won't go with them. I just I'm always constantly running from them.

[00:09:32]And drugs came into your life when >> when did drugs come into my life? Like ever since like let me see when I had like probably my second baby.

[00:09:44]And that time I gave the kids to the to their dad. And right now the kids are with their dad too right now. But um ever since I I I that's when I introduced myself when I was when I had my second baby. But when I came back to California is when I really started like started using like cuz you know like I felt alone. So, I just I just felt like this only thing that would like keep me like less stressed out or like make me feel like, you know, like I don't know, just it just make me felt >> What What is your What drugs are you using now?

[00:10:27]>> Right now, I use um meth.

[00:10:31]I use methamphetamines, but um I used to use fentinel, but I am slowly like getting off of it right now.

[00:10:41]It's it I just I take like method um suboxin >> because you're using opiates as well.

[00:10:52]>> Yeah.

[00:10:53]>> Yeah.

[00:10:55]How are you making money now?

[00:10:58]Um, just I've been just basically just like prostituting like >> entertaining men.

[00:11:10]>> Yeah.

[00:11:14]>> Where do you stay?

[00:11:16]>> Um, downtown.

[00:11:18]>> But are you do you have housing or are you on the street and attend?

[00:11:22]I was on housing, but um just like about two weeks ago, I just been homeless again. Like the place told me that they couldn't um pay my rent anymore. So, they just like gave me a a place to go get some shel to go get shelter. But I haven't gotten shelter yet. So, I've just been on the streets like for the last two weeks like just going from like friends to place, friends to place.

[00:11:46]And >> how old are you right now? I'm >> 38. 38.

[00:11:51]38.

[00:11:52]>> Yes.

[00:11:58]>> Do you have anyone helping you at all?

[00:12:00]Do you have any kind of >> um >> therapy or rehab hopes or anything like that?

[00:12:05]>> Right now, I only thing I do is like mental health. Like I go to mental health downtown like every um every week. Somebody talks to me and >> Is that helpful?

[00:12:16]>> Yeah, >> that's good.

[00:12:20]And it's just >> Are you hopeful of getting housing again?

[00:12:23]>> Yeah, hopefully. Like they just kind of told me to go. They told me to go to the women's center. They told me that there was the last opening there. And that time I didn't have a phone. So I been just going to the women's center every day just trying to see if they, you know, if they're going to accept me or not. I mean, if they have an open next opening again.

[00:12:44]So hopefully um I'll go back I'm gonna I'll get back into my housing again.

[00:12:58]>> Do you have friends on the street?

[00:13:00]>> Yes.

[00:13:01]>> Yeah.

[00:13:02]Like I remember before I left from here like I got run over like I got run over and it seems like some of my friends that that I know like one friend that I know like I passed away that they were they got run over too just like and it's hard like that was the only friend that I you know that I I trusted to be around but I guess they ended they passed away from And ever since then, like the guy that I like, you know, that that helped me seems like he just kind of turned turned around, turned against me. He found another partner or whatever. So, ever since then, I just been alone again.

[00:13:50]>> What is it like for a woman on Skid Romero? You've been there for how long?

[00:13:55]I've been on the streets for like I came here in 2017 and then I got housed like in 20 let me see 2024 and ever since then in the streets like I've been just was hard. I met I met um I met a friend who who helped me, you know, who helped me um helped me get me into housing and who helped me like instead of >> How did you lose your housing?

[00:14:25]>> Um they said the the Salvation Army had no more funding for me or no not enough money to pay for the rent anymore. So the fundings were out. So then they just gave me like a 30-day notice and then that's when I just, you know, I just left like when as soon as the 30 day was up, I just left in the apartments.

[00:14:47]>> What would you like to see happen in your life?

[00:14:51]>> Well, I would like to like, you know, plan to clean myself up, trying to get better and hopefully like try to get my kids back.

[00:14:59]I do want to see my kids.

[00:15:01]>> Do Do you talk with your children still?

[00:15:03]>> Um, no. in the end.

[00:15:07]>> Do you know where they are? They're with your >> They're with their dad right now.

[00:15:11]>> With their dad?

[00:15:12]>> Yeah. In Arizona.

[00:15:15]>> You know how to find him?

[00:15:17]>> Um Yeah. Super. Yeah.

[00:15:26]>> All right, Sarah. Well, thank you for sharing your story.

[00:15:29]>> Okay. You've had some really terrible people in your life, haven't you?

[00:15:35]>> Yeah. Yes.