By Gary Nager
When I first got the email from New Tampa resident Kim Kelly stating that she was volunteering for an organization called “Bridging Freedom,” which is dedicated to creating local awareness about human trafficking (especially, child sex trafficking), I thought, “Great idea, but how much of that really is going on in our area?”
Well, like many people who have met Kim and/or Bay area resident Laura Hamilton, MPH, the founder of Bridging Freedom, my jaw hit the floor when I heard the stats — that Florida is third in the nation (behind CA and TX) annually in cases of human trafficking and Hillsborough County is second in the state (to Orlando’s Orange County) in reported cases. And, with 300,000 new cases of child sex trafficking reported every year, this obviously is a huge issue nationwide.
And yes, unfortunately, it’s happening even here in New Tampa. And yes, most of these cases are kids as young as seven and eight (although most are between 10-14) who end up having a new “friend” on Facebook.com and other social media sites. This friend likely won’t ask the child to meet right away, but what they will do is talk to them, in their own lingo, find out what they’re unhappy about in their lives (especially anything they’re not happy about with regards to their parents) and work on them, get the kids to trust them, for weeks, months or even years, before actually trying to get them to meet.
“These predators don’t care if they’re able to get your child or mine,” Hamilton told the members of the Wesley Chapel Rotary Club (which meets Wednesdays at noon at Ciao! Italian Bistro in the Shops at Wiregrass mall). “When you have thousands of online ‘fishing lines’ out there, the numbers say that at least a few of these children will be ‘reeled in’ and agree to meet them.”
And, when they do, Hamilton said it’s even easier for the traffickers to earn the child’s confidence and, within a short period of time, bam, they will ending up selling and reselling these children 30-40 times a night.
Still think, “This couldn’t happen to my kid?” Think again, said Hamilton.
“Human trafficking is now the number two crime in the U.S. in terms of how much money these people make on the crimes they commit…it’s second only to drug trafficking,” she said. “And the average age of the victims keeps dropping. The average age was 14 just a couple of years ago. Now, the average age is 12…and it’s still dropping. And the life expectancy of these children is only about seven years. Most die of diseases.”
Although some of the parents in the audience at the Rotary Club thought Hamilton perhaps didn’t go far enough to really point how prevalent and terrible a problem this is, other parents with young children — boys and girls — were stunned to hear the stories Hamilton has heard since she created Bridging Freedom a couple of years ago.
“Children playing alone on the internet attracts traffickers,” Hamilton said. “That’s a fact. And, it’s not just an online problem. Right here in Hillsborough County, a sports coach sold at least one young boy over and over — to his neighbors. There’s just so many ‘buyers’ out there. And, where there’s a market, a demand for something, there’s always someone…many people…happy to provide that ‘product.’ Your child.”
Bridging Freedom’s mission is to combat the sex trafficking of minors by bringing restoration to those rescued and providing victim prevention services by spreading awareness of the problem in schools, churches, with Rotary and other local civic and service organizations, anywhere Hamilton can spread the word. “Our ultimate goal is to build a therapeutic ‘safe home’ because the children who escape this ‘life’ need so much treatment,” she says, adding that there are fewer than five such residences nationwide right now. “Ours will be a holistic campus with equine therapy, on-site professional counselors and more, similar to the one started by WellSpringLiving.org in Washington, DC. We’re looking at one remote site in Hillsborough and one in Pasco right now.”
To find out more about Bridging Freedom, a faith-based, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which works in conjunction with the Clearwater/Tampa Bay Area Task Force and the Tampa Bay FBI “Innocence Lost” Initiative, or to have Laura Hamilton speak to your school or group, visit BridgingFreedom.org or call (727) 828-7000.
No comment yet, add your voice below!