SARASOTA, Fla. — We live in a place of beauty; a place that attracts people from all over the world. However, there’s a dark side to this popularity, because along with the good visitors, also come some bad.
According to the group Selah Freedom, Florida ranks third in the United States for sex trafficking.
“When there’s tourism, there’s a higher incidence of sex trafficking,” said Stacey Efaw, Selah Freedom’s Executive Director. “Whether it’s sporting events, a lot of people coming to concerts — anything bringing tourists to the area will also bring sex trafficking.”
Gabrielle Triplett knows the story — she’s lived it. Six years ago, Triplett was the perfect target for Florida sex traffickers.
“They prey on the vulnerabilities,” Triplett said. “So, for me—I’m alone on the streets. I have a drug addiction. So, they come to me offering the drugs, offering shelter and offering love. And things are okay in the beginning and then the tables turn-- the abuse starts to happen, then you’re forced to go out and have sex.”
For Triplett to escape her trafficker, she says it took an extremely close call.
“So, he found out that I was trying to escape and he shot me in the chest, and I was able to talk him into calling 911,” she said. “It (the bullet) was literally this far from my heart."
Triplett says her trafficker is now in prison, and since then has eventually found help and healing at Selah Freedom. Each year, the Sarasota residential program provides housing, counseling, education and life skills for hundreds of victims.
“We help develop a personal plan for each person,” Efaw said. “Everyone comes here, and their story is different. They’ve all been traumatized, but everybody’s story is different and everybody’s dream is different. So, we want to personalize it and help them achieve their dream.”
Triplett is now indeed living her dream. She is married, has a baby boy on the way and she’s working for the charity that she believes saved her life. “I would not be sitting here today, if it was not for Selah Freedom.”
10 Tampa Bay is proud to support the work of Selah Freedom with a $2,000 grant from our parent company TEGNA’s Foundation.
Selah Freedom has two upcoming fundraising events. They take place in Sarasota and Tampa and feature guest speaker Darryl Strawberry. For more information and tickets click here.