TAMPA, Fla. — Breanna Cole is a survivor of human trafficking.
“I was trafficked by my boyfriend,” said Cole, who lives in Bradenton. “For a long time, I really didn’t understand that that was what was happening.”
Cole eventually found a way out and has since flourished. That transition would not have been possible without a nonprofit that she said literally saved her from dying on the street.
“It seems extreme, but it’s the reality,” said Cole.
The nonprofit, headquartered in Sarasota, is called Selah Freedom.
“We provide full wraparound services for survivors, and we have two safe homes in the area,” said Stacey Efaw, the executive director.
Right now, Efaw said the work Selah Freedom does is extraordinarily critical.
Florida has the third most sex trafficking cases in the country, and Tampa Bay has the second most in the state.
Decreasing those troubling statistics is an uphill battle.
“Right now, unfortunately, there’s been major cutbacks in federal funding. That’s why we really need the local community to come in and help us out,” Efaw said.
So, Wednesday night, Efaw and others with Selah Freedom held an event at Armature Works in Tampa to increase awareness about human trafficking and raise money for the nonprofit.
The nonprofit didn’t just come with silent auction items. It also came with some star-powered help.
Duane Chapman, better known as Dog the Bounty Hunter, was there with his wife to endorse the nonprofit and plead for more donations.
“This is an outstanding program,” Chapman said. “One of the greatest programs.”
Efaw hopes the exposure provided by Dog the Bounty Hunter will help grow her nonprofit.
“It’s really hard to measure,” she said. “We’re very grateful that he’s here.”
Cole hopes so too, for the sake of so many others who aren’t yet survivors.
“There’s a lot of other women that are still in the life and don’t know there’s a way out. I want to find them,” she said.
To learn more about Selah Freedom, click here. You can contact Selah Freedom's hotline at 1-888-8-Free-Me.
To recognize the signs of human trafficking, visit this link.
