TAMPA, Fla. — In today's Beautiful People, meet a woman who's been fighting human trafficking in Tampa for decades. She's even created a foundation to help victims get out and get the help they need.
Dotti Groover-Skipper says she didn't choose her life's work, it chose her.
"It was over 40 years ago when I was teaching a self-esteem class in one of the most marginalized communities in Tampa Bay and there was a 13-year-old girl in my class who was so angry," she said.
Dotti decided to report the behavior to the housing authority and they investigated.
"They discovered that the 13-year-old girl lived with her grandmother and her 4-year-old little sister and the grandmother was selling both of them, every night, in exchange for drugs."
What was happening didn't have a name at the time, but Dotti knows what to call it now. "It was human trafficking. Although there was no label for it back then. It was human trafficking."
That discovery still haunts Dotti to this day, but she knew she had shone a light on those living in darkness and fear. Over the decades, Dotti has worked on local, state and national levels bringing awareness to human trafficking. She now teaches others how to recognize it and how to fight it.
A few years ago, she started the Heartdance Foundation. "I wanted to go deeper. I wanted to actually get in the trenches and seek out those individuals who are the invisible ones who might be going through such trauma."
She leads teams into some of the darkest corners of Tampa Bay, ready to take action.
"We have to build relationships with them. They don't just come right out and say they're a victim. Many times they don't even know they're a victim, but what we do is we will sit with them, at another location, and help them build a safety plan to get out."
And while her work has brought her much recognition over many years, the reason she keeps coming back is simple.
"It's not a glamorous job. It's not a glamorous career, but it keeps bringing me back because we see lives transformed."
Another interesting fact about Dotti, she was a Miami Dolphins Cheerleader from 1978-80. She was recently invited back to talk to the current cheerleaders about her work and how to recognize the signs of human trafficking. Also, she's excited that in 2024, she'll be debuting her first TEDx talk about her life and those pivotal moments that led her to where she is today. She also plans to write a book.