Page 11 - Florida Sentinel 10-14-22

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2022 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY PAGE 11-A
Faith In God And Understanding Of Suffering Led Her To Help Anyone In Need
BY MONIQUE STAMPS Sentinel Staff Writer
Nancy Rojas-Hernandez
believes in God and demon- strating the power of God to people in the worst times of their lives. The former victim of sex trafficking has relied on her faith since 2007 when she took her first step out on Nebraska Avenue to help the homeless.
“I just decided to go out and talk to people. I had water and sandwiches, and I went to let people know that there was help and there was hope,” says Rojas-Hernandez.
Rojas-Hernandez is the founder, owner, and operator of Mujeres Restauradas por Dios, or Women Restored by God. The organization helps people with food insecurity and the homeless with shelter and clothing.
Going into nude men’s clubs, Rojas-Hernandez has pro- vided the dancers with con- doms and prayer. Visiting Ybor City bars, she convinced young, vulnerable girls to come and hear the word of God. She has worked with HIV patients and domestic violence victims.
Rojas-Hernandez was born in Puerto Rico. After com- ing to New York on a visit, she was human trafficked for over 27 years. Her abuser also turned her into a drug mule. Her abuser’s death and a diag- nosis of cancer had her search-
ing for something. She found God. She credits prayer for de- livering her from that life.
In 2007, she beat the cancer and met a man that would be- come her partner and husband. He accepted her for who she was, and he believed in her. An- thony Hernandez is one of his wife’s biggest cheerleader and helper.
It hasn’t been easy, but Rojas-Hernandez started small and worked to expand. She says that she just got out there and did what God wanted her to do.
In 2014, her nonprofit was established to help feed and clothe poor families in the Tampa. She got the attention of the Tampa Underground Net- work, an organization that helps smaller nonprofits stay afloat. They provided her with a phone and an office.
In 2021, she moved her church and her non-profit to her present location, 4310 N Nebraska Avenue. Eventually she would like to have a com- pound offering all her services and adding medical services.
Every week day, you can find Rojas-Hernandez, her hus- band, Anthony Hernandez, and volunteers packing up food boxes with fresh meat, vegeta- bles, fruits, and other nutritious food to feed the hungry.
On Wednesday, they pack about four hundred boxes of food for Anthony Hernan-
NANCY ROJAS-HERNANDEZ
dez to deliver to senior citizens. In addition to volunteers,
Rojas-Hernandez helps peo- ple on parole and probation by employing them in her food dis- tribution center.
“We always look to help peo- ple any way we can. If it is giv- ing hours to people in the justice system, we’ll do that too.”
On Saturday October 22, 2022, at 6:00 p.m, Rojas-Her- nandez is inviting the public to join the Ministerio at City Hall for Purple It Up for Domestic Violence Awareness.
City Hall will turn purple, and attendees are encouraged to wear purple for the occasion.
Tonya Lewis, CEO and op- erator of Children with a Vision, and Rojas-Hernandez are partnering to deliver recovery
items to help the residents of the counties hit hardest by Hur- ricane Ian.
“We must help people. We share that goal,” Ms. Lewis stated.
The community is encour- aged to drop off cleaning sup- plies, medical supplies, first aid supplies, paper goods (includ- ing toilet paper and paper uten- sils), feminine hygiene products, pet supplies, blan- kets, flashlights, and baby food and diapers. They are not ac- cepting clothing currently.
Donated items can be dropped off at the Ministerio lo- cation, 4310 N. Nebraska, Tampa, FL, 33603. Drop-off will continue until November 30, 2022.