SPACE COAST PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE FIRST THURSDAY-HUMAN TRAFFICKING: IT’S ALL AROUND US
• It’s all around us.
• This is happening globally, domestically, in urban and suburban areas.
• Children and adolescents are sold into a $150 billion annual market for sex and labor.
• Florida is ranked 3rd in the nation for the most calls to the national hotline for trafficking cases.
• It involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act.
• Language barriers, fear of their traffickers, and/or fear of law enforcement frequently keep victims from seeking help and making human trafficking a hidden crime.
• Families are too often not aware of it until it has touched them personally.
• Several national research articles state that as many as half of all child trafficking survivors identify as male, yet regional efforts still show large disparities in male to female victim identification.
• Sensationalist media can cause further harm to trafficking survivors.
• We need to educate the public more responsibly.
• Creating awareness helps us to have open dialogues with the youth in our lives and this helps the youth to know that they can come to us and talk about something that has made them uncomfortable, rather than them feeling that they are alone in addressing it or have to keep it a secret.
Join this group of subject matter experts that work to prevent, fight, and heal the victims. Law enforcement, social work, mental health, community education all come together as a panel to discuss their experiences of this significant problem happening all around us.
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, please call 911.
If you suspect a child is being sexually exploited/trafficked in Florida, please call the Florida DCF Hotline: (800)96-ABUSE or the National Human Trafficking Hotline: (888)373-7888
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89091950550 ID: 89091950550
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BIO’S
Nathan Earl, Principal, Giant Slayer Communications, an advocate building resilient communities to prevent violence against boys and men, including human trafficking and exploitation. Serves on The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children leadership Council, a 2019 Fellow of U.S. Department of HHS. Nathan has business degrees and certificates from State College of Florida, Southern California, Florida International University. and currently enrolled at the University of South Florida.
Melissa Creeger, is with the Department of Children & Families for the past 15 years. She is currently an Investigator with the specialized Children’s Advocacy Unit for the past 5 years. The CAC unit handles the Human Trafficking investigations in Brevard.
Andreena Harriman, provides clinical leadership of Devereux Florida’s DELTA program for survivors of sexual exploitation. In addition, she provides support for those who are particularly vulnerable to risk such as our LGBTQ+ youth and those with autism spectrum disorders. Andreena is passionate about providing education about the impact of trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences and how to promote resiliency in support of those we serve.
Sergeant Brian Stoll, Supervises the Special Victim’s Unit with the Brevard Sheriff’s Office. Has over 25 years of law enforcement and is responsible for investigating sex crimes, child and elderly abuse, extreme domestic violence cases, and human trafficking. He helps victims get through the worst times and helps teach them how to become survivors. He served 8 years in the Florida Army National Guard and earned an MPA from Barry University.