Who We Are
Treasured Lives is South Dakota’s one-of-a-kind survivor led 501c3 nonprofit anti-trafficking advocacy organization. Our mission is to provide avenues of healing, safety, and hope for those exploited by sex trafficking. Treasured Lives survivor speakers have helped countless people increase their understanding, paving the way towards both personal and community advances and healing. Our advocates and client navigators are the best! They provide a safe, professional, and loving environment for sex trafficking survivors.
Kelly Patterson is a survivor of Commercial Sexual Exploitation/sex trafficking; beginning at the early age of 4 and escaping at age 22. She has worked with survivors of sexual trauma since 1996 through her previous private practice and currently via Treasured Lives. The tenacity to free others helps her push through the most difficult of obstacles, a skill learned through climbing out of sex slavery herself.
While shame and pain kept her quiet for years, Kelly’s journey of healing and freedom from sexual exploitation are giving her a loud voice today. Believing that unity is key, she enjoys collaborating with others to wage war against sex slavery.
Having survived the unsurvivable, her skills come forth in maneuvering the difficult arena of very painful subject matter. Kelly believes that facing the truth with peace is possible because of her own experience. The courage it takes to discuss such a controversial subject with large crowds is a gift that she excels in. Her fearless dynamic style has engaged many audiences with her story.
Her artwork and writing skills reflect a passion to reach out to other survivors, lend understanding to their family and friends, and light a fire in others to help in the fight against sex trafficking in all its forms.
From Trafficked to Treasured is her autobiography (click image to the left to order). An accompanying workbook and facilitator manual and titled The Pendulum will be published soon. Her co-authored book, Freedom Cry, will also be published soon.
Kelly Patterson is a highly sought after speaker and trainer who serves as a consultant for a number of anti-trafficking organizations including: The West River Human Trafficking Task Force; South Dakota Network Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault; SD Survivor Task Force; National Institute of Justice – for American Indian and Alaska Native women; FAST Sexual Assault Initiative; USD OVW Advisory Board for Indigenous-led Research on Sex Trafficking among Native Americans in South Dakota; World Without Exploitation.
The South Dakota Survivor Task Force