TAMPA, Fla. — January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month, and one local nonprofit is working on what it calls the front lines of exploitation.
The HeartDance Foundation is going into places many outreach groups never go, strip clubs.
Volunteers with HeartDance Foundation head into strip clubs across the Tampa Bay region, looking for signs of sexual exploitation and human trafficking. Their mission is to build trust, offer support, and help women find a safe way out.
It is a type of response most people never see.
A typical outreach night begins around a dinner table. Volunteers share a warm meal and a moment of prayer before heading out. Car by car, they caravan into the night towards strip clubs in the Tampa region.
Dotti Groover-Skipper is the founder and CEO of HeartDance Foundation.
“We do purposely run towards nefarious locations and situations and put ourselves in situations that might not be the most-safe. In that regard, I think we could be considered a different type of first responder, in the work that we do,” said Groover-Skipper.
Female volunteers go into the clubs carrying gift bags, smiles, and no judgment. Outside, the men of the organization, known as the Men of Valor, focus on building relationships with bouncers, customers, and anyone willing to talk.
Mike Ripper with the Men of Valor said, “We don’t go in as stale robots. We go in as people meeting people to make a friendship, to build a relationship, and if they’re open to it, we meet in the middle.”
“Going into places, seeking out women who’ve been sexually exploited, and then helping them when they’re ready with a safety plan to get out of that situation. Then walk with them on their journey and help them with resources along the way,” Groover-Skipper said.
For Mike Rippy and his wife, Jennifer, the mission is deeply personal.
Jennifer said, “At one point in my life, I was there. At one point in my life, I worked in that environment.”
Now the couple volunteers together. Jennifer said they return each month, believing there is always one more person whom they can help.
Jennifer said, “There is one more out there. There is one more out there that needs to hear that they are loved and that somebody sees them.”
This is not the first time Tampa Bay 28 has highlighted the Heart Dance Foundation. Since 2021, the organization said it has seen tangible progress.
“We have helped several in that time frame and many prior to that. We have one woman who has a life-threatening situation disease and illness, and rallying around her helping her with rent,” Groover- Skipper said.
She went on to say there is another young woman who got out of the industry and now HeartDance is helping her find a new career.
Those involved in the mission say one of the biggest challenges remains breaking stereotypes about what trafficking looks like.
Jennifer said, “They are people. They have names. They are somebody's daughter. They are somebody's son. They are not just a number. They are not just a face hiding in the shadows. They are walking amongst us daily.”
The HeartDance Foundation wants anyone struggling to know that asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness.
If you or someone you know need assistance, you can call 211 at any time to be connected with local resources.
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