- Lived Experience Stories
Karly Church’s Heroic Story
Her traffickers might call her a Victim, but Karly Church is a hero. Able to safely exit, regain her sense of worth, she uses her power to help other victims.
It’s often said that a Mother’s love surpasses all. In that case, a Mother’s heartbreak must encounter pain, suffering, and anguish like no other.
For Jennifer Holleman, her journey as a mother to daughter Maddison has taken her from a place of concern, to fear, anguish, desperation, heartbreak, grief, and today, the pursuit of justice. Despite it all, her constant has been the incredible love for her firstborn daughter Maddison and granddaughter Cali Mae.
This is the story of a Mother’s love and heartbreak.
Raised in Nova Scotia, Jennifer’s daughter Maddison was a good student, learning French and participating in athletics – she was even a two-time national boxing champion.
Like many teenagers, Maddison began exploring new friendships and relationships. A new boyfriend (her first love) and a new friend entered Maddison’s life, quickly leading her down a path of skipping school, partying, drugs, and secrecy. Her new boyfriend started exercising control over Maddison, manipulating her and slowly pulling her away from her family.
Maddison managed to initially get herself away from the situation, and soon gave birth to a daughter. But a move out west in 2012 changed her life forever, when Maddison became a victim of Trafficking. For Jennifer, the events that continued to unfold in Maddison’s life was like trying to put together the pieces of a large, complicated puzzle.
Every phone call and message was like a huge puzzle. Today, I’m still trying to put the pieces together.
Maddison
In the years that followed, Maddison became consumed by a life of Trafficking, based in Alberta, but being moved throughout the country. Her phone number and residence changed. Jennifer was heartbroken and desperate. Says Jennifer, “I called Maddison out on her actions, and communication was touch and go for months on end. I pleaded and begged with her to get out, but the more I tried to talk to her, the further she pushed herself away. She had my granddaughter. One day, she said she wasn’t ok, that I needed to come and get Cali Mae, or that someone else would. I knew it was serious.”
When Jennifer finally found Maddison in Northern Alberta, she wasn’t the daughter she had known – she was empty on the inside. At Maddison’s request, Jennifer brought her granddaughter Cali Mae home to Nova Scotia. In the years that followed, while Maddison made it home for a visit, she was constantly lured back to the underground and often violent world of Trafficking.
When Jennifer finally found Maddison in Northern Alberta, she wasn’t the daughter she had known – she was empty on the inside.
At Maddison’s request, Jennifer brought her granddaughter Cali Mae home to Nova Scotia. In the years that followed, while Maddison made it home for a visit, she was constantly lured back to the underground and often violent world of Trafficking
“She eventually came home, got a job, was playing rugby, and made some friends. But then she went away again – to Halifax, to Moncton. Brampton. Mississauga. Toronto. Eventually she ended up in Alberta again.”
The day that changed Jennifer’s life forever was hearing that her beloved daughter Maddison was killed in a car accident. The details emerged as a Mother’s worst nightmare: Maddison was the passenger in a vehicle driving 125km/hr down Whyte Avenue, a major Edmonton thoroughfare. The car flipped upside down. She died immediately. It is thought that the driver was a John (sex buyer). Maddison was only 21 years old.
A returned cell phone helped Jennifer slowly put together more pieces of the puzzle, which is still left completely unfinished. There were messages, voicemails, and cryptic notes that showed Maddison’s life had turned into survival mode. The beatings and torture her daughter faced from her traffickers was nothing short of horrific. Says Jennifer, “They beat her, they burned her, set her hair on fire. Raped her. She was tortured. They killed my child. And they are still walking the streets and doing the same to other women and girls.”
In an act of incredible courage and resilience, Jennifer Holleman has become an advocate for Human Trafficking, telling the story of her daughter Maddison and working to end this crime. Says Jennifer, “I don’t want Maddison’s legacy to be one of pain, of torture. I want her story to be one of positivity and hope. No human should have to go through what she went through.”