Local Organizations Seek Long-Term Solutions for Trafficking Survivors
by Elyse Meredith Kelly | The Florida Free Press
Abolitionist groups in Central Florida have made great strides in increasing awareness of human trafficking, but awareness only scratches the surface of the issue. For sustainable solutions, rehabilitation programs are necessary to help survivors face the myriad challenges resulting from their time in slavery.
According to the National Survey of Residential Programs for Victims of Sex Trafficking, conducted in 2013, rehabilitation can take years, depending on a survivor’s mental and physical state. Physical wounds — from broken bones to reproductive issues — must be mended. Psychological trauma often requires even more time to heal.
In an effort to support survivors, multiple organizations in Central Florida offer wraparound care. The term describes a comprehensive care approach to healing and rehabilitating victims.
Latisha’s House in Central Florida is the newly opened second location of a Virginia-based safe house, focused on reestablishing female survivors.
“We are a long-term, residential program with a minimum of 10 months, which is different from a lot of other programs, which are often six months to a year,” Stephanie O’Connor, state coordinator for Latisha’s House, told The Florida Free Press.
O’Connor said every victim has a different story, each coming with a unique set of problems. This requires an individualized approach to healing.
“We’re not capped at a year,” she said. “We actually have them as long as needed to be able to be sustainable and successful when they move on.”
Latisha’s House helps women discover their own identity through art, along with providing essential services like health care, vocational training and trauma counseling.
Because victims of human trafficking are often stripped of identification upon entering a life of slavery, the organization prioritizes guiding survivors through the process of obtaining government-issued IDs.
Another local organization, The Lifeboat Project, is a long-term residential care program for trafficking survivors, in Apopka, Fla. The Lifeboat Project developed the Haven Home Program, which organizes and equips volunteer-based homes where survivors can safely heal. Once established in a home, survivors receive individualized care that includes counseling, health care and job training.
Haven Home aims to keep the barrier of entry low for those in need, but most support and rehabilitation organizations are funded by individual donations. Little government funding is allocated to these programs.
Latisha’s House, for example, is still gathering donations and volunteers as they finish their new location.
In addition to financial strain, organizations must navigate issues that arise from poor coordination with federal, state and local agencies, language barriers, and victims’ lack of legal status.
This is part of an ongoing series investigating human trafficking in Central Florida.
