Stark Reminder About The Threat of Human Trafficking

The Light Up The Night event at the Shops at Wiregrass concluded with a candlelight

It seemed fitting that a classic Florida sunset — vibrant slashes of pink, purple and orange — marked the beginning of Light Up The Night, an annual event created to raise education and awareness about human trafficking,

The free event, held right around sunset on Feb. 1 on the upper level parking garage at The Shops at Wiregrass by the Pasco County-based Human Trafficking Foundation (HTF), featured musical performances, local vendors, refreshments, activities for children and teenagers, and the Pasco Sheriff’s Mounted Posse on horseback.

Also appearing were survivors of human trafficking, including Edie Rhea, who told those in attendance that she was sexually abused and trafficked from age 8-17 by her mother’s boyfriend, after he convinced her mother to move to Tampa from their hometown of Baltimore, MD. 

“Moving us was very smart on his part, because it got us completely away from all our friends and family,” said Rhea, 51, who now lives in North Tampa and serves as Executive Director of Healing Root Ministry, a faith-based nonprofit that assists female trafficking victims over the age of 18 with housing, life skills training and obtaining GEDs.

Rhea, who at age 12 was impregnated and then forced into having an abortion by a man who had purchased her, found herself on the street at 17 with no education or basic skills after her mother had kicked out her and her trafficker.

She met up with a man named David, who used to buy drugs from her mother, and the two began a relationship. 

Today, 34 years later, they are happily married with five children, three adults and two under the age of ten they recently adopted.

“When we were first married, I had lots of affairs, because I really believed that every time a man spoke to me, I had to have sex with him,” said Rhea. 

A few years ago, Rhea met up with her former trafficker. They prayed together and she said she forgave him. Weeks later, he passed away, and the experience inspired Rhea to form Healing Root Ministry, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, faith-based organization that provides shelter for those who were once enslaved, as well as “hope, help and healing,” according to its mission statement.H

Several organizations, including Healing Root, received beneficiary funds from HTF at the event.

“The whole idea of Light Up The Night was simply that this is such a dark crime,” said Cpl. Alan Wilkett, HTF chairman and commander of the Pasco County Human Trafficking Task Force. 

“This criminal activity is probably the darkest crime that I’ve ever investigated,” said Wilkett, 58, who has been in law enforcement for 27 years, “and I’ve had the opportunity to investigate just about everything you can imagine.”

Wilkett described human trafficking as a “relatively young crime,” pointing out that there was no official charge against it for victims like Rhea until the year 2000, when Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. 

“Some of the cases we’ve seen over the years, and especially having children myself, have been very impactful on me,” Cpl. Wilkett said. “It’s a broad, encompassing crime that directly affects the fabric of who we are.”

Cpl. Alan Wilkett, HTF chairman and commander of the Pasco County Human Trafficking Task Force, with human trafficking victim Edie Rhea.

Indeed, said both Wilkett and Rhea, human trafficking is a much more widespread issue today then ever before. 

According to HTF, it is the second-largest criminal enterprise in the world, behind drug trafficking, with an estimated 40.3 million current victims worldwide. 

Between 15,000-18,000 are trafficked annually into the U.S. alone, and Florida currently ranks third in the nation for calls to the National Human Trafficking Hotline.

The Tampa Bay area, says the foundation, is usually in the top three cities in the state for trafficking.

In 2017, Pasco County became the first “Trafficking-Free Zone” in the country. This distinction, given by the U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking, intends to send a message to traffickers that they are being watched, thereby reducing the demand for their victims.

“A lot of people believe that this only happens overseas, but it’s also happening here, now, in our own backyard,” said Rhea, who spends 65 hours every week running Healing Root pro-bono.

Even as the temperature dropped into the low 50s with chilly winds at the event at the Shops, attendees talked with vendors, pledged donations, and enjoyed hot cocoa, popcorn and cotton candy to the backdrop of performances from the Northwest Community Church band and Vessels 360, a Christian-based dance team from Hernando High.

Vessels 360 performed a visceral interpretation of human trafficking, prompting tears from many in the audience, before Cpl. Wilkett handed out checks ranging from $2,000-$5,000 to various organizations who help trafficking victims.

The evening came to a close with a candlelight vigil (photo on previous page) led by Cpl. Wilkett, honoring survivors and offering prayers for current victims. Those without their own battery-operated votive candles thrust their phones in the air, having downloaded candle apps for the occasion.

“”The strongest thing you can do against hate is bring love,” said Cpl. Wilkett as attendees circled the stage. “And the strongest thing you can do against darkness is bring in the light.”

For more information about Light Up The Night or to donate or volunteer, go to HTFoundation.us. For more information about Healing Root Ministry, go to HealingMinistry.com. If you suspect human trafficking or are or have been a victim yourself, please call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at (888) 373-7888.

SILVA AND GOLD

Camille Albrecht, who teaches synchronized swimming at the New Tampa YMCA, embraces her former student Juliana Silva.

When Juliana Silva’s family first moved to New Tampa, she didn’t speak a word of English; all she understood was her love of the water. 

“I’ve been in a pool since I was four,” says Juliana, now 17 and a former student at Benito Middle School and both Wharton and Wiregrass Ranch high schools.

Currently, Juliana lives in Moraga, CA, just outside of San Francisco, where she trains full-time with the U.S. Junior National Synchronized Swim Team.

After nine years on the Tampa YMCA Stingrays (TYS) competitive “synchro” team at the New Tampa facility, Juliana has her sights set on the ultimate prize: a 2024 Olympic gold medal.

“Juliana came to the Stingrays as an eager-to-learn, naturally athletic eight-year-old,” says TYS Head Coach Camille Albrecht, 30, who has sent several students to the national team. 

Since Juliana didn’t understand English at the time, Albrecht would use hand motions to demonstrate the correct techniques. 

“She picked up all the synchro words and English very quickly,” said Albrecht, who described Juliana as a “joy to coach, always cheering everyone else on.” 

Although Juliana was born in Indianapolis, IN, her family (mother Susana Barrios, father Rafael Silva and brother Leo Silva) moved to Venezuela and Colombia shortly after, returning to the U.S. in 2011. 

“I’d always heard that Tampa was a great city,” says Susana. “Before we moved here, I visited friends who lived right across the street from Hunter’s Green, and I totally fell in love with the area.” 

Athleticism comes naturally to Juliana. Her brother, now 19, started soccer at five, and their father was a former amateur champion and professional tennis player.

All Juliana wanted to do at first was stay home, so her mother decided to get her out of the house by signing Juliana up for swim classes at the Y. 

“She looked at me on the way to that first class and said, ‘Okay Mom, I’m going to try this once, but if I don’t like it, I’m not going to do it,’” Susana says. 

A month later, Juliana  began training with Albrecht, kickstarting her dreams of Olympic gold. 

Building A Track Record Of Excellence

At age 14, Silva placed sixth in her very first Regional “zone” meet, qualifying her for the National meet. It took three attempts to make the junior national team, which she did by placing 16th in the nation. 

“Before that, I was hard on myself,” Juliana says. “I told myself I’d never make it, that this was just for fun. But making it to Nationals was an eye-opener.” 

Susana says she began saving money for the pricey gear required for her daughter’s national competitions, including single swimsuits that could cost $200 apiece. She served her daughter meals and did her laundry while Juliana powered through a grueling training schedule, before and after school and on weekends. 

“My mom supports me to the max,” Juliana says. “She’s the one who’s always pushed me to do this — the reason I joined synchro in the first place is because she was tired of me being in bed, watching Netflix and getting fat!” 

In California, Juliana trains from 7 a.m.-3 p.m. every day except Sunday and spends four hours each evening online for academic classes. 

“It’s like a robot routine,” admits Juliana, who lives with two other teammates and a host family in California. “You wake up, eat breakfast, train, shower, do homework, eat dinner and repeat. If I lay in bed in the morning and think about it too much, I won’t get up.” 

Juliana also says that if she hadn’t struggled to qualify for Nationals at first, she would never have made it this far. 

“My numbers, and knowing I could do better, motivated me,” she says. “Just wanting this won’t get you anywhere. You have to put in the action.” 

Juliana’s team will begin its Olympic training after the Junior World Championships in August, as the team members aim for Paris 2024. 

Susana, who graduated law school at 22, encouraged her daughter to pursue her Olympic dreams and return to college later, reasoning that Juliana will still be plenty young when she “retires” from competitive swimming. 

“I don’t want synchro to be my whole life, because when I retire, I want a career to back me up so I have somewhere to go,” says Juliana, a high school junior who’s interested in forensic science. 

She says she misses everything about Tampa, especially her family and friends, her own bed, and the “heat and humid air,” which she says is easier on her eczema, a skin condition that she says is aggravated by swimming in chlorinated water. 

“My kids are truly Floridians, and we all think of Tampa as home,” Susana says. “Everyone here was so supportive and friendly when we moved in; my kids were invited to sleepovers a week later.” 

Susana says that she will always be grateful for the New Tampa community and particularly the New Tampa YMCA, which twice assisted Juliana via the Y’s Open Doors sliding scale program, without which lessons would have been unaffordable for the family. 

When a spot on the national team opened up, Juliana’s family had one week to decide if she would take it. 

“I told her it was her decision, and she told me, ‘Mom, I’m ready, I’m going,’” says Susana. “When I realized she’d be in a big city without me, I struggled, and of course, I miss her. We’re very close, she’s my baby. But I’m happy.” 

Truly One Of Our Own!

Juliana says she is very excited about the possibility of one day representing New Tampa in the Olympics. 

“When I got here it was unreal; it took me a while to realize that I’m actually here, that I made it, that this is my spot,” she says. “It feels amazing to know that you have a lot of people supporting you and even looking up to you.” 

Susana says she remembers watching, along with Juliana and her grandmother, Michael Phelps’ family celebrate his victory in the 2016 Olympic Games. 

“Juliana turned to her grandmother and asked her if she was ready, and my mother asked, ‘Ready for what?’ And Juliana said, ‘That’s gonna be you, I’m gonna take you to the Olympics!’” 

“If my daughter says she’s going to the Olympics,” Susana continued, “she will be there.” 

For more information about the Tampa YMCA Stingrays, visit TampaYMCA.org or call Camille Albrecht at (813) 785-7092. 

Family Fuels Academic Success Of Freedom Valedictorian

When Amir Iranmanesh takes the stage at this year’s Freedom High graduation ceremony to give his valedictorian speech, he won’t be thinking about his GPA, which he says is 9.14.

The 18-year-old will be remembering his late grandmother, the most influential person in his life.

“Everyone says this about their grandmas, but mine was the purest, most innocent person in the world,” says Amir, who describes himself as very family-oriented. “She was magical — every time I make a decision, I pause to consider what she would do.”

Amir believes his achievement would have been impossible without his parents, who emigrated from Iran before the 1979 revolution that threw their home country into chaos and raised their children to make their own decisions since they were young. 

“My parents have always put a lot of trust in me, and gave me enough love to motivate me to want to do good things,” says Amir, who also credits his brother Eamon and sister Elhaam for their support.

Amir says he didn’t intentionally aim for the top rank in his class. He had a “passion for math” and wanted to learn as much of it as possible, so he began taking dual enrollment courses at Hillsborough Community College as soon as he could.

“Understanding math truly opens a whole new perspective on the world,” says Amir, who especially enjoyed algebra and calculus but also took extra courses in literature, public speaking, visual arts and computer science. 

Amir’s strategy was to fill up his school days with homework and extracurricular activities and reserve Fridays and Saturdays for spending time with family and friends.

He competed for Freedom’s swim team for three years, and was a member of the school’s National Honor Society. He also served as an officer in multiple organizations at school, including the Rho Khappa National Social Studies Honor Society, Model United Nations and Future Business Leaders of America.

Amir helped others succeed in the classroom, too. He created a year-long math tutoring club staffed by student and teacher volunteers during their lunch hours, and also collected more than 3,500 book donations for the New Tampa Regional Library.

The future businessman currently serves as the treasurer of the student body-elected Executive Board of the HCC Dale Mabry Student Government Association. He manages a nearly $650,000 budget, votes on how to use the money during weekly board meetings and helps run general student body meetings on Tuesdays. 

Although undecided at our press time where he will attend college, Amir says he plans to attend somewhere in Florida to remain close to his family.

Amir says he draws inspiration from his parents — father Ali, a civil engineer who owns a company with Amir’s mother Parvin, a former social worker.  

“I plan to major in business so I can learn everything about how companies work, then invest in real estate once I have a steady income,” Amir says.

Amir traveled back to his native Iran last month for an extended vacation, exploring new cities and visiting family. He also took time to pay his respects at the grave sites of his three late grandparents and reflect on what he might do someday to alleviate the country’s crumbling economy.

“It’s upsetting to see people from my own city suffer and struggle to pay for food,” he says. “Whatever my journey is, it will surely consist of me giving back to my hometown.”

Freedom High’s 2019 graduation ceremony will be held at the Florida State Fairgrounds on U.S. 301 in Tampa on Thursday, May 30, at 9 a.m.

Local Female Veterans Hoping To Grow Their Facebook Group

When someone says the word “veteran,” the image that immediately jumps to mind is usually that of a man, hair turned to gray, with wrinkled skin and slower to move, but carrying themselves with the same pride and dignity they learned — and earned — while serving their country. 

The image that hardly ever comes to mind?

That of a woman.

Retired U.S. Air Force veteran and senior master sergeant Phyllis Whetsel believes it’s high time for that to change.

Whetsel, who is originally from New York, served 21 years of active duty and retired last June. Her husband, Brook, retired last January after 26 years of his own in the Air Force. The couple met while stationed together at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii and were married in 2012. 

Air Force veteran Phyllis Whetsel fills her time working as a
Mary Kay consultant and running a new Facebook group for female veterans in the Wesley Chapel/New Tampa area. 

After a joint retirement ceremony on the USS Missouri, the couple relocated to Wesley Chapel last August, with Whetsel’s mother and three of their four children, ranging in age from five to twenty.

Most of the men in Whetsel’s family were service members, including her father, who passed away in 2016. Her eldest son lives in Idaho with his husband; both men are currently serving in the Air Force.

“Whenever I’m talking to someone and they ask what brought me here, they assume that when I say I’m retired from the military, I’m actually speaking of my husband,” says Whetsel, 42. “It’s still a mindset that the military (mainly) consists of men.”

Wanting to change that mindset while connecting local fellow female veterans, Whetsel created a new Facebook group last month (search “American Women Veterans of Wesley Chapel, New Tampa and Surrounding Areas” on Facebook)that she hopes will bring together members of this unique group, which is bigger than many believe.

According to the Washington Post, 20 percent of new recruits in all four branches of the military are women. Nearly 280,000 of those who served in Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn were women, and about 9 percent of the overall U.S. military veteran population, or more than 2 million, are women.

Baby Steps First

Whetsel’s group currently has just nine members, but the page is already very active, with posts about other female veterans, resources for those suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), military news and of course, lighthearted memes.

“So far, the feedback has been very positive,” says Whetsel proudly. “While we serve alongside men, our military experiences are very different, and that’s what bonds us.”

Whetsel expects her group, which currently has 58 members, to grow substantially once word gets around, and is hoping to exceed 1,500 members by the end of the year.

The only requirements for membership: be a veteran of any United States military branch and of course, be a woman. Whetsel trusts the integrity of her members and does not require proof of service.

Whetsel says that although she knows of several groups for female veterans based in the heart of Tampa, hers is the first specifically for the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area. She naturally gravitated toward Facebook because of her familiarity with it. She now works as a Mary Kay consultant. 

“This is definitely going to be a positive, uplifting group,” says Whetsel. “Not everything about being a female vet is positive, so I just wanted a place where women can chat, joke around and share their stories.”

The first group activity Whetsel planned was a gathering at her home on March 1 (the day we went to press with this issue) for coffee. After she gauges the response to that and a few of the group’s other ideas, she’ll move on to larger events in the community, and hopes to grow the group enough to be affiliated with American Women Veterans, a national organization based in Washington, D.C.

“I’m looking forward to connecting with my new tribe,” said member Stephanie Jamison, who retired as a master sergeant in August after more than 20 years in the Air Force and moved with her family to the area last June. “It’s tough leaving the military family behind, but I’m thankful for groups like this!”

Fellow Air Force veteran Beatriz Cruz, who now lives in Wesley Chapel, echoed Jamison’s sentiments.

“This group means meeting other women veterans, and hopefully having the same camaraderie we had in the military,” says Cruz.

Whetsel says she is looking forward to adding more members to the group.

“I really believe that even though we are no longer in the military,” she says, “we still have so much to contribute — not only to each other, but to the community.”

For more information about the group or to join, visit the “American Women Veterans of Wesley Chapel, New Tampa and Surrounding Areas” page on Facebook. 

Three Wesley Chapel Girls The First To Join New Boy Scouts Program

Katherine Traynor and Paisley Murphy (left and back), both 11 years old, pose with 10-year-old Lexi Zink. The Wesley Chapel residents became members of Scouts BSA in February. (Photo: Libby Baldwin)

Wesley Chapel just got a serious dose of girl power.

As of last year, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) began accepting girls into its Cub Scouts program, designed for ages 5-10, in the hopes that more families will get involved in the 107-year-old program that fosters leadership and outdoor skills. 

The Boy Scouts program that has traditionally served boys 11-17 years of age officially changed its name to “Scouts BSA” in February to reflect the program’s first-ever inclusion of girls, who can now “cross over” from Cub Scouts in February at age 11. The change also allows girls to be eligible to become Eagle Scouts, a coveted title which boosts college applications and offers scholarship opportunities. 

Two of the five BSA divisions, Venturing (adventure activities for ages 14-17) and Exploring (career skills for ages 10-20), were already co-ed, but many parents have been lobbying for their girls’ chance to become Eagle Scouts for years. 

“It shows that they have leadership skills, that they can multitask on projects and serve their community,” said Robert Hall, scoutmaster of Troop 33, which operates out of Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church on Collier Pkwy in Land O’Lakes. “It’s about more than just checking the boxes; they have to be Eagles in their hearts, concerned with others besides themselves.”

Lexi Zink, second from left, awaits her turn to make a campaign speech to become the first ever female Senior Patrol Leader of Troop 34. (Photo: Libby Baldwin)

Scouts must achieve the Life rank (BSA’s highest rank), earn 21 merit badges and execute a corporate-level service project before getting a chance at Eagle. They are judged by an adult review board before a final decision is made. Only four percent of all Scouts achieve the honor. 

Hall’s troop of 52 young men expanded by 40 members when another Troop, Troop 34, crossed over from Cub Scouts during a formal ceremony in February. Three girls from Wesley Chapel – Lexi Zink, Paisley Murphy and Katherine Traynor — were among 11 girls to make history.

“Scouts BSA really empowers our girls to be whatever they want to be, that they’re just as capable as the boys,” said Brandi Zink, Lexi’s mother. “It takes them out of their phones and outside, and in today’s world, the lessons they’re learning are priceless.” 

Lexi — whom Hall describes as “scrappy and outgoing” — felt right at home from the beginning.

“It’s not any different for her, because she hangs out with boys anyway,” said Brandi, who serves as assistant scoutmaster in her daughter’s troop. “She did a lot of this stuff with her brother when he did scouts, and she was always right there with him, digging in the dirt, going on camping trips.”

Zink’s 13-year-old son, Caleb, helped develop Lexi’s fearless attitude, which is readily apparent, despite her unusually small stature. He and several other boys include Lexi in their bike rides to the park, basketball games and other outdoor activities. 

“Girls are always just as good as boys,” said Lexi, who plays on a traveling lacrosse team with much older girls and hopes a college scholarship to play lacrosse will help her become a veterinarian. “If there’s something that the boys can do, we can do it too, and we can probably do it better.”

Sharing The Spirit Of Adventure

Paisley Murphy and Katherine Traynor, both 11, also are new Troop 33/34 members hailing from Wesley Chapel. Unlike Lexi, they transitioned from Girl Scouts, longing for more adventure.

“Being in Scouts BSA feels better, because Girl Scouts was pretty boring,” said Paisley, whose uncle was an Eagle Scout. “They sing, do arts and crafts, play hopscotch . . . I wanted to do archery, canoeing and horseback riding!”

Paisley invited a friend of hers to join too, but the friend’s mother wouldn’t allow it. 

Brandi Zink says she has received some negative feedback for allowing her daughter to join Scouts BSA. A neighbor down her street disapproves of letting girls do “boy things”; the parents of one of Lexi’s girlfriends asked if Brandi was trying to take a political stand. 

“I could care less about making a point; she’s doing this because she’s a natural-born leader and she wants to,” said Brandi. “She likes arts and crafts fine, but she would just rather be doing them outside with a saw and hammer, instead of inside with glitter and glue.”

Katherine, whose dad and uncle were Eagle Scouts, says that other girls who want to make the leap shouldn’t be afraid to follow their dreams.

“In Girl Scouts, all we did was talk about cookies and cookie sales,” Katherine said. “We had a choice between camping for three days and going to Legoland for just one day, and they chose Legoland. It was sad!”

Troop 33/34 is the only one in the greater Pasco County area so far to include girls, and the troop’s weekly Tuesday meeting on March 26 was election night; Scouts BSA meetings are run entirely by the scouts themselves.

Lesser positions, such as historian/scribe, consist only of the candidates standing at the front of the room and determining the winner by applause.

Two young men competed for historian; one of them, fresh out of Cub Scouts, shook hands after the older one was chosen; the younger boy congratulated the winner for a job well done.

“After the Cub Scouts cross over (to Scouts BSA), they leave an adult-run structure and become the decision makers themselves,” said Hall. “We have a patrol leader committee, which will have girls, too, when they get into the swing of things. (The committee) runs the meetings, decides what trips we’re going on, stuff like that.”

The troop’s last decision of the night? Senior Patrol Leader, also known as SPL. This top-dog position — one for the girls and one for the boys — is the person the group looks to for leadership, conflict resolution and anything else that may arise. 

Normal requirements for SPL are to be ranked first class or above and be at least 14 years old; but because this is the first year for the girls, those requirements were waived for them. A new SPL is elected every six months.

Lexi hadn’t realized the rules didn’t apply to her; when she discovered she could run after all, she lit up from the inside, and confidently decided to run, despite no preparation time. 

The tiny tomboy stood tall at the microphone, making up a speech on the spot as to why she was the right one for the job. She answered some very intense, thoughtful questions from the more experienced boys;the process was strikingly similar to a presidential town hall debate.

“To me, it’s not as if they’re girl or boy scouts; (they’re all) just scouts, and I’m not going to treat the girls differently,” said Hall. “All our girls want to be Eagles, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they all get there.”

Despite her last-minute candidacy, Lexi was swiftly elected the troop’s first-ever female SPL. 

For more information about Scouts BSA Troop 33/34, call Tina Raymond at (727) 858-5885 or visit ladyrosary.org/cub-boy-scouts. For general information about  Scouts BSA, visit Scouting.org/scoutsbsa/.