Kingsley eventually became involved in drugs, worked the streets and was robbed. She went to a local church, which got her in a shelter. She eventually made her way to the Atira Women's Resource Society.

Kingsley says she wants Olympics visitors to understand the devastating effects of prostitution.

"The fact is I was beaten, raped, exploited, brutalized almost every day," she noted. "That's the reality. And I didn't have control over the things that happened to me or to my body. And I didn't make large sums of money. You can see I am only starting to get my life together now, and that's out of the sex trade; that's not in the sex trade."

Kingsley says the help she received has enabled her to work toward the future, and that having her own apartment makes a huge difference in rebuilding her life.

"I can do things that are good for me, you know, not just try to exist hand-to-mouth or in survival mode, you know? I can start to cook food that is good for me, you know? Yeah, I mean it's a completely different way of life when you have your own place," she noted.

Despite Janice Abbott's and Cherry Kingsley's efforts, the Living Library faces challenges in getting its message out. Located in a former storefront, it is next to a recycling center where homeless and indigent men and women bring cans in exchange for money. On this day, a line of 100 people waiting to turn in their cans snakes down the block.