February 05, 2018 05:28 PM – KSTP 5 Eyewitness News
Dozens of sex trafficking victims on Monday had to leave the safe place they’d found for the past 10 days to return to the same streets they’d escaped.
They had found safe haven at a long-term residential facility for sex trafficking survivors called Breaking Free. Survivors are typically required to sign up for counseling and housing to stay there but for the 10 days leading to the Super Bowl, Breaking Free was able to become an emergency shelter.
The NFL Super Bowl Host Committee, the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota, Catholic Benedictine Sisters and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, among other organizations, footed the bill to help Breaking Free buy beds, food and emergency provisions for victims.
Now, the 10 days are over. The day after the Super Bowl is day 11.
“What a heartbreak to tell the women they can’t spend the night here. Some of them have infant children,” said Terry Forliti, Breaking Free’s executive director. Comforters are the only signs the women and children were here.
Read the full article and watch the video at www.kstp.com
Find more information on the Sisters of St. Joseph’s Anti Human Trafficking Working Group in the Justice section.
February 6th, 2018