Greetings Earthlings,
This is Elsie Stich, and I will be sharing the experiences we had today, our second full day in Florida. Today we listened to various speakers (pictured below) talk about their experiences with human trafficking, domestic violence, and drug/alcohol abuse. The presenters spoke from their different perspectives of these problems in the Tampa area. Ms. Sally Dittman, who is the former president of and a strong advocate for the Southshore Campaign Against Human Trafficking organized and arranged the group that spoke to us today. After the presentations, we had lunch and then followed Tiera Biesinger to the Learn to Fish Recovery House to spend time and eat dinner with the people living there.
Keisha and Sonya from Miracles Outreach; this shelter focuses mainly on girls who are oftentimes living as wards of the state who are threatened with sexual trafficking and assault. They mentioned that most girls that they get will become involved in an act called "survival sex". This act includes doing sexual deeds for basic needs of living, such as receiving food, clothes, money, gifts, shelter, etc.
Susan and Laurie from the Mary and Martha House, which is a domestic violence housing facility, spoke about what they do to help family survivors of domestic violence. They have an 87% success rate. There are three shelters owned by the Mary and Martha House, but they are not just shelters. These homes are resources for survivors to use for resume creation, mock interviews, creation of own bank accounts, three new outfits (including jewelry, shoes, accessories, etc.), groceries, budgeting resources, and any other imaginable thing that could help these survivors get back up and steady.
Janet Smith (president) and Tanya (resident) of Haven of Hope presented their mission and how they plan to accomplish said mission. Their goal is to "help former prisoners productively assimilate back into society as they become passionate followers of Jesus Christ." Haven of Hope is also more of a resource facility than just simply a shelter. They help the women back on their feet after being incarcerated for various amounts of time. Tanya, who is a current resident of the Haven of Hope facility, is pictured above.
From beginning to end of video: Sammy, Marian, Almi, Summer, Christina, Stephanie, Michelle, Nari, Miss Odessa, Tiera, Julia, Mari, Muriel, Ally, Angie, and Elsie (next to Sammy at beginning of video)
During our introductions after dinner, we all lost our focus and ERUPTED into conversation! At first, we were all a bit quiet and unsure of what to say and how to act, but that changed as soon as we started talking and realizing that we're all just people trying to survive in the world. These women are strong and amazing. They are all in the recovery house for different reasons, but are all there for the same cause: to get back on their feet again. We did not intend to spend over four hours with these women (and their children!), but as they say - time flies when you're having fun! Through being in the house with them, I realized that people from all walks of life can encounter domestic violence and substance abuse. People typically think "that'll never happen to me", but these women also though the same thing. A handful of them were highly educated and had amazing careers before they were dragged down to rock bottom by things out of their control. Hearing them relate their recovery back to their faith was inspiring and actually made me reconsider my religious beliefs. If they can look at their situation as a blessing, then so can I.
Elsie holding Sammy's baby
Almi playing with Sammy's baby
The ABST group doing the "Baby Shark song for Alex's son
