State works to fight human traffickers drawn to Super Bowl, rescue victims
Published: February 4, 2021 6:35 PM EST
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The big game in Tampa Bay is just three days away. The stadium’s decked out and the community’s ready to play ball. But there’s a darker side to the game, operating in the shadows.
“This is a challenging time for law enforcement, especially in the fight against human trafficking,” said Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody.
Big events tend to attract traffickers, putting police, lawmakers, prosecutors and victims on the offensive and launching new initiatives to fight the scourge of human trafficking.
The pandemic has had a dramatic effect on how the Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida operates. Because of the pandemic, more people are in need of food, and that’s why WINK is teaming up with Harry Chapin this month for the “March to a Million Meals“. Before the pandemic, most of its food […]
Volunteers power the Harry Chapin Food Bank
Published: February 2, 2021 4:15 PM EST
Updated: February 2, 2021 5:57 PM EST
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It makes her feel good to feed Southwest Florida families.
“I just like helping out the community,” Tuite said.
Tuite is one of more than 7,300 people who volunteered their time during the last year to help power the Harry Chapin Food Bank. Volunteers help keep costs low, making the money you donate to our March to a Million Meals, go much further.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way people volunteer, but it’s also fueled their passion for feeding Southwest Florida.
“They just really need the food, they are living paycheck to paycheck and this just really helps them, in a small way,” Tuite said.
March to a Million Meals: The pandemic has increased food insecurity in Southwest Florida
Published: February 1, 2021 3:00 PM EST
Updated: February 1, 2021 6:23 PM EST
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Rising unemployment rates and an increased cost of living, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic, have all created this growing amount of food insecurity in Southwest Florida.
40 minutes before a mobile food pantry was set to open in Lehigh Acres, there were already dozens of cars lined up. Families like Annie’s with her grandmother behind the wheel, two kids in the back seat, hoping to put food on the table.
“You go to the grocery store and it’s over $100 for just a few items,” said Annie.
Florida is a hotbed for human trafficking. We’re in the top three in the country for the number of cases, yet most people wouldn’t know it if they walked right by it.
In just days, a new human trafficking law takes full effect. Its goal: to spot human trafficking and rescue victims.
Savannah Parvu had a painful, unimaginable childhood.
“I started being sexually abused by a neighbor around the age of five,” she said.
“My dad had a stroke that left him disabled when I was nine, and after that, my mom got involved in more drugs.”
Then her mom started selling her body for drugs, Parvu said, and eventually, “there was a time when I was 11 that her drug dealer offered a $10 piece of crack for me instead of for her.”