Fresh Start, Healing Heart

August 2026 Issue
by Tamela Maxim | Photography by Cassidy Dunn Photography

When Sheila Roemeling first felt the pull toward working with survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence, she was only 19 years old. As a survivor of sexual abuse and trauma as a child, she didn’t know what shape that calling would take, only that it would someday become central to her life. She asked God to wait until her children were grown before placing that work in her hands, and just as her youngest daughter was preparing for her wedding, the heavenly tap on her shoulder came.

By then, Sheila had spent more than 20 years as an international health coach. But she felt unmistakable promptings to pursue the anti-human trafficking cause. “Human trafficking has many facets to it,” she explained. “It’s often, but not always, domestic violence and sexual assault together.”

The name Fresh Start Healing Heart came to her as a gift from God, and the organization was officially launched in June 2015, immediately offering prevention education while preparing to directly serve survivors. In September of that year, she met her first survivor and the mission ignited.

Building a Mission from Scratch
Sheila’s early steps were humble and hands-on. She volunteered for a year with CODA—now Hopeful Horizons—learning the inner workings of nonprofit partnerships and victim advocacy. Those experiences shaped the foundation of Fresh Start Healing Heart’s mission: “Survivors First! We walk beside them for as long as it takes to move forward, connecting them with all the resources they need for healing.”

Today, Sheila’s daily life reflects the all-consuming nature of her dedication. “I wear a hundred hats,” she said. Her mornings begin with prayer, Bible study, and time with her dogs before she heads to whichever office she’s using that day. Survivors reach her by text, phone, and social media, and she’s often supporting several at once. In between, she’s a janitor, bookkeeper, grant writer, fundraiser, community educator, victim advocate, case manager, and collaborator on multiple regional task forces.

Her work is relentless—but deeply personal. “Being hands-on with survivors is where my heart is.”

Why Human Trafficking Thrives Here
The Lowcountry’s vulnerability to trafficking is no mystery to Sheila. “There are five ways to bring trafficking to any area, and you only need one—poverty, tourism, ports, military, or a corridor highway like I-95. The Lowcountry has all of them.” Technology has only widened the danger. “Families don’t understand the concept of handing a minicomputer to a child. Eight billion people have access to that child.” Too many still believe trafficking is a distant problem, something that happens in big cities, other countries or to other families.

Walking Survivors Through Healing
When someone reaches out, the first step is assessing their situation, determining if they are a victim of sexual abuse. From there, Sheila and her team assess immediate needs. Some have homes and children and need support and healing. Others are in the hospital after a violent incident, requiring daily visits and help finding a host family.

Fresh Start Healing Heart works with all ages but houses only adults, collaborating closely with foster care and families for minors. They support runaways to prevent trafficking, help survivors enter rehab, build trust through mentorship, and guide them through education, employment, parenting classes, boundary setting, and even equine therapy.

Fresh Start Healing Heart operates without state or federal funding—free from red tape, able to treat each survivor like family, and willing to serve anyone who agrees to the Christ-centered approach, with no obligation or requirement to agree with the program’s faith-based principles.

A Network of Volunteers and Secondhand Stores
Fresh Start Healing Heart relies on volunteer mentors and two secondhand stores—one in Ridgeland and one in Estill. Sheila joked that she “fought God on this one,” not wanting to be tied to retail, but the stores have become essential hubs. They provide office space, storage for hygiene bags, meeting areas for collaborators, and apprenticeship opportunities for survivors learning retail and/or management skills.

Faith, Boldness, and Truth
Sheila’s faith shapes everything she does. “I have compassion; I have grace; I have my own healing process,” she said. She believes deeply in unconditional love—and in speaking truth even when it’s uncomfortable. God, she says, made her bold and blunt, and she uses that boldness to educate youth through programs like I STAND and Good Touch, Bad Touch, which teach children as young as age 4 about healthy relationships, boundaries, and safety.

Looking Ahead
Sheila dreams big. She envisions land where families can have tiny homes to heal together—and even a farm for men who have completed their prison sentences and genuinely want to rebuild their lives. On her hardest days, she reads letters from survivors. And while the community still struggles to believe trafficking exists here, Sheila sees progress.

Her legacy, she hopes, will be that she led hundreds—if not thousands—toward healing and a closer walk with the Lord.

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Signs and patterns indicating someone is
being trafficked or sexually abused:

Behavioral and Emotional:
• Appears fearful, anxious, or submissive,
especially around certain people
• Avoids eye contact or seems nervous when spoken to
• Someone else speaks for them or controls their interactions
• Shows signs of depression, exhaustion, or trauma
• Runs away frequently or disappears for unexplained periods of time
• Seems unusually attached to or controlled by
someone who is much older

Work and Living Conditions:
• Works long and/or irregular hours and is constantly tired
• Is transported to and from work by someone
• Has no access to personal documents like a
passport or a driver’s license
• Lives at their workplace or in unsafe, crowded housing

Social and Physical:
• Wears inappropriate (revealing) clothing
• Signs of malnutrition, neglect, and physical harm
• Seems isolated from friends and family—appears to be controlled
• Avoids discussing personal life or tells inconsistent stories

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Fresh Start Healing Hearts 24-hour Helpline:
843-338-8896 or 843-644-1991

National Human Trafficking Hotline:
Call 1-888-373-7888 or text 233733 (BeFree)