Survivors speak out as budget cuts reduce human trafficking resources in Bradenton

Local nonprofits are struggling to provide vulnerable human trafficking survivors in Bradenton with key resources after a series of federal budget cuts.

The cuts slashed money provided by the Victims of Crime Act, or VOCA, which was created by Congress in 1984 to support direct services to victims of crime, providing things such as emergency shelters, crisis intervention and counseling to victims.

For many nonprofits, VOCA is the lifeblood of their organization. That money allows them to offer a wide array of services to survivors of human trafficking, domestic violence and more.

Selah Freedom, a faith-based anti-trafficking nonprofit in Sarasota, is one organization that depends on VOCA money to provide these services.

Support services that are funded by VOCA have had life-changing impacts on human trafficking survivors in the Bradenton area.

“I learned that I am valuable. I love who I am,” said Gabrielle Triplett, a survivor who found help at Selah Freedom. “My past does not define me.”

Trafficking survivors speak out

Selah Freedom has seen steep cuts in federal funding over the past few years. The nonprofit’s grant money for the Manatee and Sarasota area was reduced by nearly $800,000 this year and by more than $1 million the year before.

Stacey Effaw, Selah Freedom’s executive director, said the organization has been forced to find new ways to pay for employee salaries and therapy for survivors that VOCA used to cover.

But she specified that there are no plans to reduce these positions or services. Selah Freedom hopes to mitigate the cuts through private donations and upcoming fundraisers, such as a golf tournament in June and a gala planned for November.

These programs can make a difference in people’s lives.

Triplett and Breanna Cole, two survivors of sex trafficking, are graduates of Selah Freedom’s residential program. They both now work for the nonprofit.

Without community resources for trafficking survivors, which are largely paid for with VOCA, Triplett and Cole say they wouldn’t be where they are today.

Triplett, who graduated from the program in 2019, said her trafficker “didn’t need a ball and chain to control her.” He did it through coercion, she says, capitalizing on her homelessness and drug addiction.

Her trafficker was physically abusive, she said, going as far as shooting her in the chest at an Ocala hotel room in 2018. The investigation into the shooting connected her with Selah Freedom — a connection that changed her life forever.

“Before I was in the program, nobody really cared. They’d just see me on the street and keep on moving,” said Triplett.

Now, she has a place she belongs.

Cole, who is now a member of Selah Freedom’s outreach team, had a similar experience. She said the resources to overcome trauma were a game changer for her.

“Trauma kept me stuck in the life for a long time. It kept me using drugs for a long time because I didn’t want to face it. The reality was scary. It was harsh and so having that taken care of with trauma therapy I truly believe is a huge part of why I’m successful today,” said Cole.

VOCA’s budget cuts will impact the therapy Cole received, according to Effaw. Cole said that treatment made all the difference in her life.

“I know bad things happened to me, but it doesn’t weigh on me like it used to,” she said.

Florida pushes for anti-trafficking resources

Florida has approximately $77 million less to distribute in 2024 compared to 2022, according to a December letter from Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Office that called on Congress to “stop diverting funds from crime victims.”

In her letter, Moody said that a decline in collections, which Congress cited as the reason why states have fewer funds to distribute, “should not have required precipitous decreases in VOCA money for crime victims.”

In 2022, these grants provided support to more than 9.8 million victims, according to Moody’s letter.

The cuts have real-life consequences that can be felt locally and those at Selah Freedom aren’t the only ones in the area dealing with the weight of them.

One More Child, a Christian nonprofit that has served families since 1904 through foster care, child care, family support programs, anti-trafficking and more, has been left to fill a $1.3 million void left by unexpected cuts to federal grant money.

“It’s been a very difficult year with funding cuts,” said Jodi Domangue, executive director of anti-trafficking at One More Child.

Those funds, she said, were what gave them the “stability to offer services in Bradenton and throughout the area.”

These cuts mean the elimination of a 24/7 crisis line, assistance and advocacy programs, shelter placement, trauma therapy and much more in Manatee County as they continue to offer services elsewhere in the state.

This may pose difficulties for survivors in a state that consistently ranks high in reported cases of human trafficking.

Florida ranks third in the United States for human trafficking cases behind only California and Texas, according to the Human Trafficking Hotline. According to the latest available data, Florida reported 781 cases in 2021, which represents about 7.5% of reported cases in the country.

Human trafficking among adults can come in several forms, but it usually involves force, fraud or coercion, according to Nasheka Craddock, a Bradenton Police Department detective and member of the Tampa Bay Human Trafficking Task Force.

Craddock said one of the best things people can do is to familiarize themselves with some of the signs of human trafficking and if anything looks suspicious, to contact law enforcement.

National Human Trafficking Month

January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Organizations like One More Child provide training to help people educate themselves on the topic and recognize the signs. A few of these signs, according to Selah Freedom’s website, can include bruising and injuries, someone being submissive and fearful or an inability to speak to someone alone due to their trafficker speaking for them.

One More Child took part in a statewide “Traffick Stop” campaign at the Florida State Capitol to highlight the fight against child sex trafficking in honor of the month. During the campaign, they called upon policymakers to support anti-trafficking bills, such as SB1196 “Protect Our Children Act,” which increases penalties for adults who prey upon children.

The organization also addressed the reduced federal funding allocated through VOCA and asked the legislature to appropriate the funding needed to “provide the full range of services for trafficking victims,” according to a news release.

“I want every trafficking survivor out there to know that we see you, we are standing with you, and we will not stop fighting for you,” One More Child President and CEO Jerry Haag said at a recent press conference in Tallahassee.

Throughout the month, the Department of Children and Families has also been handing out tool kits designed to educate those who have or work with children about human trafficking and how to recognize the signs, as well as where to find the proper tools and services to report and combat trafficking.

Currently, DCF says they oversee and license 37 beds for child survivors of human trafficking and 93 beds in Florida for adult survivors, but there is an increased need for adult beds, they say.

Craddock said in addition to educating the community, law enforcement agencies, such as those who partner together in the Tampa Bay Human Trafficking Task Force and others, must continue to put together operations regularly to combat human trafficking.

Human trafficking in Manatee County?

The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office conducted an operation that concluded in October with the arrest of 17 people and at least one human trafficking victim identified. Deputies raided three local massage parlors that the sheriff’s office accused of “deriving support from the proceeds of prostitution.”

But Maria Gillum, the lead detective on the sting, said one of the biggest challenges is getting human trafficking survivors to trust law enforcement officials enough to talk.

Triplett had a similar experience. She said it took several encounters with law enforcement before she finally felt confident enough to open up and ask for help.

Gillum said this is a common issue with human trafficking victims who have been led to believe that they are worthless because the abuse of trafficking wears down their self-esteem.

Major Todd Shear, the investigative bureau chief at the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, said it is important to have successes like Operation Refuge every once in a while to keep trafficking “at the forefront of people’s minds.” The work never stops, even though it can be frustrating, he said.

“We want to catch these guys who are trying to exploit children and adults in this manner and that’s part of our passion, not just to set our victims free, but to give them refuge, to heal them and to get their lives back away from someone in this world who is evil and is taking full advantage of vulnerable people,” said Shear.

If you or someone you know is a victim of human trafficking, call the confidential National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.