LightHouse In the News
Formally Hepzibah House (Jan 2022)
Quantum Foundation taking grant applications
Shannon Hawkins, the director of community engagement for the Quantum Foundation and Becky Dymond, president and founder of Hepzibah House” visit WPTV.
Uber drivers to help human trafficking victims
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — A new set of eyes and ears, to keep our streets safe. Your Uber driver will be looking for something specific the next time you get in the car. – CBS 12
“I think it’s fantastic if it works,” Uber driver Frank Martino said. “If it saves one person it’s worth it.” Martino, who’s from Deerfield Beach, is a father of a 16-year-old boy and also a full-time Uber driver. Now he’s part of a new campaign to spot victims being trafficked on our streets. Uber is teaching its drivers about the telltale signs: riders who are taken to multiple hotels for short periods of time or riders who are with another person who seems to be controlling them. “Get to a safe spot, try to get ‘em out of danger and report it as fast as you can,” Martino said.
Florida is the third state in the nation for human trafficking. In 2017, 329 sex and human trafficking cases were reported in the Sunshine State. Within the last 10 years, more than 4,500 victims of human trafficking have been rescued in Florida.
“I think it’s brilliant,” said Becky Dymond, a licensed mental health counselor. Dymond runs a safe house in Palm Beach County for sex trafficking victims and is glad to hear that Uber is training drivers to be able to spot victims of sex trafficking. “It’s just another opportunity for someone to leave the life in a safe way,” she said. Dymond says telling Uber drivers what to look for is a big step in getting women help. “More eyes are a good thing,” she said, adding that she hopes Lyft will do it too.
Meanwhile, Martino hopes he can make a difference. “People don’t want to get involved,” he said. “Me, I’m different. I’d get involved.”
Uber drivers are being instructed if they find a woman who appears to be a victim of sex trafficking and she wants help, they can call 911 or a human trafficking hotline.
Overcoming a nightmare: Human trafficking survivors finds comfort in baking
PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — The aftermath of human trafficking can be a long and painful fight. But for one group of survivors, relief comes from baking handmade dog treats.
“I remember before this help going to sleep and asking God if I can just sleep and never wake up,” said Susy, a sex trafficking victim. The memories of her painful journey to freedom still haunt Susy to this day. “I am still dealing with a lot of things I lost. I lost my two kids. I lost my ex-husband, which was my husband in the moment,” she said. Susy, who is from Costa Rica, said she was trafficked by her best friend’s mother-in-law after her friend offered her a free one-week vacation in the U.S. “Since that day, she put me in that apartment in Virginia and I slept with a lot of men,” Susy said. “I started my schedule at 8 a.m. and it was over between 10 and 11 p.m. from Monday through Sunday.
The emotional physical and mental abuse she endured during those years can be hard to forget, but there’s one thing that helps: Baking organic animal treats.
“Form me its healing,” Susy said.
Susy and other survivors work a regular 8-hour shift at a safe house called Hepzibah House. They mix the ingredients, stir them in a large bowl, roll the dough and cut it into pieces. Then, they put the animal treats in a dehydrator for 16 hours before heating them in the oven. Once they’re ready, they are packaged and sent to local pet stores and a green market in Pompano.
For Susy, doing this job helps her live somewhat of the normal life she’s dreamed of for years. “Now baking the treats, I know that I have honest money, good money that is doing something good, not only for me but for someone else,” she said. “It’s going to put a big smile in the person who gives that treat to that dog, that dog is going to eat it happy, so I am happy.”
The women get paid for their work and are taught how to manage their money. Every package of Zibah treats sold goes to helping women like Susy.
ADDITIONAL ARTICLES
Sex Trafficker In Palm Beach County Denied Bond, Faces Life In Prison
Sex Trafficker In Palm Beach County Denied Bond, Faces Life In Prison
Florida Attorney General takes lead on sex trafficking battle – CBS News 12
Hepzibah House Featured in an Article in The Palm Beach & Jupiter Magazine
The Palm Beach & Jupiter Magazine just published and article on Human Trafficking and mentions the work of Hepzibah House in our community.
Hepzibah House Segment on CBS News 12 On April, 12 2017
Luli Ortiz from CBS News 12 made a special segment on Human Trafficking in South Florida and highlighted the work of Hepzibah House .
Click Here to watch the video.
Article About Hepzibah House in the SunSentinel Published in February, 2017
The Sunsentinel published an article about Hepzibah House on February, 28, 2017.
Click HERE to read the article.
Survivor Story on WPTV News 5 Tells About Hepzibah House
Watch the WPTV News 5 segment on Human Trafficking awareness where Hepzibah House is featured.
Town Crier Online Featured Article on Barn Dance 2017
The Town Crier Online featured a whole article about Hepzibah House Barn Dance 2017.
To Read the full article go to: www.gotowncrier.com
Barn Dance Raises Funds to Restore Women Freed From Sex Trafficking
Article written by GOODNEWS about the Barn Dance Fundraiser
New Safe House Offers Human-Trafficking Victims Escape From ‘The Life
Article written by Palm Beach Post Jan 2016 The option of Safe House
A Safe House In Palm Beach County For Adult Women
Check out a Survivors Story in The Palm Beach Post
Becky’s Calling: Save women enslaved in sex trade
Check out Palm Beach Post interview with Becky Dymond.
29 Million: More than at any other time in history
29 million. Well, I know that is a big number, actually it seems very big, but how big, I pondered as I sat there yesterday in the spanking new hot pink and sky blue Retro lobby of the Cabana Bay Beach Resort, Universal Studio’s newest massive hotel in Orlando, Florida.
I wonder how many of these 29 million people could stay at this hotel? It sure seems like a huge hotel, considering they have another bus pulling up every 15 minutes to take travelers to Universal. 1800 rooms. OK, that means this entire place would have to fill up and empty and fill up again 16,000 times before all of these 29 million people get to experience this hot off the press, vintage, retro hotel! Whoa, that is a huge number! And 80% of these 29 million people are women and children so again if a packed football field, you know the one, all our men were staring at one of many just three days ago after stuffing themselves with turkey, if that field were packed with these women and children standing shoulder to shoulder, you could fit 6500 women and children on one football field so imagine 3569 football fields of all women and children and all of them are slaves. Yes, slaves. Today in the world we have 23, 200,000 women and children enslaved. That is more than all of the people in the great state of Texas! More than in any other time in our history. Stop. Read that again. No, really, read it again. There are more people enslaved today than at any other time in world history. Modern-day slavery is the FASTEST-GROWING criminal industry in the world, with profits of more than $32 billion- roughly the same as Exxon Mobil. Now that is not only a fact but a reality I can no longer just read and hit minimize and move on. Can you?
Each one of those women and children has a name: Kim, Abbey, Kate, Christy, Sharon. Sophia’s name means wisdom. Emma’s name means all-embracing; Olivia, kind one……
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