Spending time with Niki Cross is a study in courage and resilience.

Cross was molested at the age of 9.  When she was 15, she was abducted by someone she believed to be her boyfriend.

“I ended up chained by the ankles in a third floor attic for almost a year with two other teenagers, and some of the most unspeakable things that could happen to a human being happened to me in that attic,” Cross said.

The story of her escape and healing are told in her new book available at Amazon.com called, “Like Daddy Used to Say."

As time passed, Cross realized she had a decision to make.

“I could either use this to help somebody else,” she said.  “Or I could crawl into a little ball and stay mad at the world.”

She chose the former and opened Pinellas County’s first and only safe house for victims of sexual, physical and/or emotional abuse.

“They may have worked in brothels. They may have worked in hotels. They may have worked in strip clubs. But none of them were there of their own volition,” Cross said.

Cross is founder and president of STAAR Ministry, which stands for Stop The Abuse And Rescue.  STAAR was born in 2003; however, Cross helped rescue her first woman in 1994.

Supported by donations and 100 percent volunteer assistance, the safe house has room for six residents, each with her own bedroom. Stays range from three weeks to two years, and a great many hours are spent with trained counselors.

It’s called Chrissie’s House, named in honor of the woman who, many years ago, helped rescue and save Cross.

And of the women Cross has helped she says, “If even one makes it, everything I’ve been through makes it worth it.”