Still Held Captive: What This Survival Story Reveals About Modern Slavery in America

Three Americans spent 1,967 days chained in the Colombian jungle — and their story of survival mirrors what millions of women face right now, tonight, in cities across the United States.

Marc Gonsalves, Keith Stansell, and Tom Howes were held by FARC guerrillas. They were chained, starved, moved through dense jungle, and systematically stripped of freedom, dignity, and identity. Their memoir Out of Captivity documents every brutal detail — because they want the world to know: captivity doesn't end when the chains come off.

The Captivity Nobody Talks About

According to the ILO, 49.6 million people are trapped in modern slavery globally — right now. In the United States alone, 2,329 trafficking cases were referred to federal prosecutors in FY2023, a 23% jump from a decade earlier. The women we serve at CCF — women escaping domestic violence, forced labor, and housing traps — know captivity doesn't require a jungle. Sometimes it's a lease you can't break. A partner who controls your money. A shelter system that's full. A government waitlist that's two years long.

What Survival Actually Looks Like

Gonsalves, Stansell, and Howes survived because they refused to stop fighting — mentally, physically, spiritually. That's exactly what Guardian of Hope is about. Our comic series follows a hero who fights the invisible systems that trap communities — trafficking networks, predatory housing, institutional abandonment. Every episode is drawn from real stories. Real women. Real chains that aren't made of steel. Survival is a community act. You don't get out alone.

The CCF Pipeline: From Awareness to Action

CCF was built to move from awareness to action: Apparel & digital products generate revenue that funds the mission. Our Housing Resource Bundle provides tools for women navigating the system. Subject-to real estate training acquires properties to shelter families. And the Community Land Trust model creates permanent affordable housing, owned by the community. Every dollar spent at colorizedcommunityfriends.store goes back into this pipeline.

The hostages in Colombia dedicated their book to the thousands still held in captivity... none of you are forgotten. We say the same to every woman trapped in a violent home, a shelter waitlist, a trafficking situation, or a housing system that was never designed for her. CCF sees you. CCF is building for you.