We can do more to help victims of human trafficking | Opinion

In Central Florida, we continue to build collaborative solutions to fight human trafficking. United Abolitionists and Aspire Health Partners have worked together for the past decade to support long-term recovery for survivors, but it takes community support and awareness to make a greater impact.

Data shows that victims of trafficking have often experienced other forms of abuse or neglect, including physical, emotional and sexual abuse, before becoming victims of commercial sexual exploitation. Often, they were recruited into trafficking by those they trusted the most — family members, caregivers, employers and intimate partners.

This complex trauma inflicts lifelong wounds on all survivors, who often already struggle with addiction, unmet medical needs and severe mental health concerns — often worsened because of trafficking.

Awareness, prevention and intervention are essential to stopping this crisis. This includes systemic, comprehensive, trauma-informed and person-centered approaches to supporting survivors.

Just this past Christmas weekend, United Abolitionists received a hotline call from a local sheriff's office detective. She encountered a young woman who had been raped and forcibly transported across several states by a cartel in the past month for commercial sex.

As part of our joint protocol, a United Abolitionists advocate coordinated with law enforcement to immediately recover the victim from the hotel where she had been held. She was then brought directly to Aspire Health Partners for medical clearance and transfer to a specialized residential program to begin her healing journey. This collaboration is key to the safety and well-being of each survivor.

United Abolitionists connects with survivors and refers them to care, while Aspire provides detoxification, substance abuse residential services, outpatient HIV support/prevention, mental health counseling, medications and case management. Additionally, survivors can be immediately placed into a short-term residential program upon their identification. This helps them achieve safety, stability and a reintegration into a safe community.

In 2017, United Abolitionists Founder Tomas Lares, along with the executive director of the Victim Services Center of Central Florida, Lui Damiani, spoke before the Orange County Commission and former Mayor Teresa Jacobs regarding the urgent need for a short-term, 24/7 residential program for female adult survivors of human trafficking.

The commission unanimously approved the request, and Aspire Health Partners was competitively awarded the contract to open and operate the facility. Since January 2018, the program has helped about 250 women.

Sadly, though, awareness of this crisis has lessened amid the many other health, financial and environmental crises Florida has faced in recent years, allowing traffickers to easily target and exploit victims.

Fortunately, the young woman from Christmas weekend reached safety. But others who have been exploited are often fearful to speak up — for many, attempting to break free could cost them their lives.

We must do more to help these victims escape and heal from unimaginable trauma.

We can increase accessibility of hotlines and safe spaces where vulnerable individuals can reach out for assistance without fear. We can also demand stronger sanctions for traffickers, reduction in the availability of substances and drugs used to exploit and abuse victims, training for emergency medical providers to recognize signs and symptoms, and identification and closure of group homes found to have ties to trafficking.

Finally, we must all be vigilant for warning signs of exploitation and do our duty to report. If you suspect someone is in imminent danger of human trafficking, please contact 911 immediately. If trafficking involves a minor child, please contact the Florida Department of Children and Families at 1-800-96-ABUSE (22873). You may also contact the United Abolitionists hotline at 407-504-1319 or Aspire Health Partners at 407-875-3700 for assistance.

Together, we can save lives.

Babette Hankey is president and CEO of Aspire Health Partners. Tomas Lares is founder and president of United Abolitionists Inc.