Submitted by admin on Tue, 2007-03-20 08:00. ::
Anna Rodriguez, founder and CEO of The Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking, said the group received a commitment last week from an anonymous donor for more than $1 million.
The money will be used to build four shelters across the state to house victims of trafficking. The first shelter will be built in Southwest Florida. The coalition is based in Bonita Springs. Five to 10 acres east of Interstate 75 with an existing building that can be remodeled are being considered.
Human trafficking is using threats to exploit someone, usually through sex slavery or forced labor. It's different from smuggling, the act of bringing people into the country illegally.
Southwest Floridians have become more aware of human trafficking in recent years, especially after a high-profile case of a Guatemalan girl who was kept as a sex slave in Cape Coral.
Most trafficking victims are female, although young men sometimes end up in forced labor camps. Many of the young girls and women were promised jobs in modeling or in the service industry before they're forced into prostitution.
The shelters will start with 50 beds, Rodriguez said. She hopes to expand them to 100 beds. Victims will be housed in an emergency shelter and then will be moved to transitional housing where they can learn English and financial basics, and receiving job training.
The shelters will be for women and children, with a separate building for men. The coalition wants to have them ready as soon as possible after purchase and renovations.
Nola Theiss, former head of the task force, and current leader Det. Shawn Ramsey, trafficking officer for the Lee County Sheriff's Office, said the group's goal of teaching 2,500 people about human trafficking this year will be reached because about 1,500 people have already heard the message.
Theiss, Ramsey and others talk to local civic and church groups about signs of trafficking and what can be done to stop it and help victims. Theiss said she also wants the group to look into speaking at local schools.
Molloy said the shelters will fill a need. Many victims he used in previous prosecutions were housed in the county jail because there was nowhere else for them to go.
Molloy, who spoke with Rodriguez at the United Nations in January, is going to Moldova, a small Eastern European country, to talk about trafficking and how Florida is fighting it.
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