TAMPA, Fla. — After survivors escape a human trafficking nightmare, rebuilding their lives becomes an entirely new challenge.
In the Tampa Bay area, several organizations are working on the front lines to help survivors move forward.
For many parents, stability begins with their children.
That is where SAFE Families for Children comes in, led by Director Jewel Photopulos.
She said hundreds of volunteers across the state work to give parents the opportunity to focus on rebuilding their lives.
“Ordinary people doing ordinary things. Supporting parents who are in a crisis situation in various ways. Mentorship could be child care. It could just be making a meal. Some folks will take kids into their home, either for a couple of hours or overnight or a few nights,” Photopulos said.
The goal is to keep children out of the foster care system while giving parents a support system they can rely on.
“We have to be advocates for our neighbors, for our strangers, for these children, through advocating for their parents,” Photopulos said.
Employment is another critical step, along with the stability that comes from a steady paycheck.
I Rise provides job training and placement, helping survivors build skills and confidence for sustainable careers.
Founder Kristen Bracey tells us long-term aftercare is essential to preventing survivors from being pulled back into trafficking.
“We have to help women find a clear pathway to rebuild their lives and gain financial independence and stability and not just stability but upward mobility to help them move past surviving and into a life worth living,” Bracey said.
Bracey said more businesses are needed that are willing to hire graduates of the program.
The organization also teaches financial literacy, which is especially important because trafficking often involves complete financial dependence on the trafficker.
“We have students who have started their own businesses. We have students who are attending school for various things. And it’s not just about getting a job, it’s about believing you are worthy of the life that you desire to live,” said Bracey.
Even with training and support, survivors often face lasting consequences from their past.
At the Justice Restoration Center, Executive Director Brent Woody said he helped pass a Florida law in 2013 that allows survivors to seek expungement of criminal records tied to their exploitation.
“When you are in a human trafficking situtation your trafficker is controlling what you do. If your trafficker says I need you to carry these drugs, well, that’s not a request. That’s a command. And so you carry the drugs, and if you get caught with them, that’s that,” Woody said.
Woody now works to clear victims’ records, so they have a better chance at employment and housing.
He said he would like to see stronger penalties for those who patronize sex workers.
“We have to understand that’s what causes all this. Yes, the traffickers are bad people, and we penalize them heavily in Florida. We have excellent penalties for them. But for the person that’s actually driving this enterprise, there’s really not much,” Woody said.
Recovery includes a system that survivors must learn to navigate.
And a community stepping in to fill the gaps.
Small victories that slowly help rebuild a life.
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