Page 19 - 2-13-15 Friday's Edition

Local
Nurses To Be Honored At Scholarship Luncheon
Founder Of Local Outreach Center Familiar With Human Trafficking
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
Michelle Walker, founder of Miracles Outreach, set her business up 15 years ago with the goal of establishing a place for teenage victims of sexual ex- ploitation having somewhere to go.
“At that time, we didn’t real- ize some of our girls were vic- tims of human trafficking. We had mostly dealt with girls who had been sexually exploited within their families.
“We were contacted by law enforcement and were told we had girls who had been identi- fied as victims of human traf- ficking.”
Walker immediately re- searched all the information she could get her hands on about human trafficking, including a packet from the Human Traf- ficking Academy.
“At Miracles, we provide love and try to restore their self es- teem. We also try to help them realize who they really are and they are very important.
“One of the girls that was murdered in Jacksonville last year had spent some time with us, and she was like many of the young girls who don’t want to realize they are being used.”
Walker said she’s had more
MICHELLE WALKER Miracles Outreach Founder
victims of human trafficking come to her facility, and all of them exhibited the signs of the severe trauma that’s occurred in their lives.
“We’ve been successful in getting them to not run away from our facility. We try to get them to be stable, and we ask what will it take for them to stay. I like for them to stay at least 30 days.”
Walker said the average age of the victims of human traf- ficking she’s come in contact with is 14 to 15-years-old.
“We’ve become more aware of the need to educate the chil- dren and the public about human trafficking. We teach them how to look for the warn- ing signs.
“A lot of the human traffick- ing victims with me now were
brought in by a friend who really cared about them.”
Walker said she gets girls from all over the state, and some are referred from several agen- cies in the area.
“Right now, I’m serving three victims of human traffick- ing. Some do return home, but even then, they require a lot of counseling.
“We’ve started a new pro- gram called ‘Thrive’ where other victims share their story and help retrain their minds. They want to make sure the other girls know what’s really going on.”
Walker said the physical damage is easy to heal, but the psychological and emotional damage can be very traumatic.
At her facility, Walker uses a “Human Trafficking Reference Card” that contains a list of indi- cators, how to make an on-the- scene arrest, community referrals, and references to a couple of Florida statutes and house bills.
“I should also remind the of- fenders that any person who knowingly or in reckless disre- gard engages or attempts to en- gage, or benefits financially from participating in ventures involv- ing human trafficking, is com- mitting a first-degree felony and a life felony if the victim is less than 15-years-old.”
REV. PAULINE COLE ...Founder
Black Nurses of Hillsbor- ough County Historical Or- ganization, Inc. will honor 3 nurses when its Annual Scholarship Luncheon is held. The event will be held on Saturday, February 28, 2015, 12:30 p. m. at the Semi- nole Heights Branch Library, 4711 N. Central Ave.
This year’s theme is “The Plight of Black Nurses in Hillsborough County: What A Difference A Day Makes.”
Speakers for the event have been identified as Atty. Leon Jones, whose topic will be on Legal Matters, and Dr. Florence Howell Parra, a former Registered
ATTY. LEON JONES ...Speaker
DR. FLORENCE HOWELL PARRA ...Speaker
Nurse, who will speak on Bib- lical Matters.
Rev. Pauline Cole is the founder of the Historical Or- ganization.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 7-B