Photos from the 2018 Old Bags Luncheon
Enjoy these photos from the 2018 Old Bags Luncheon, Wednesday, April 4, at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort. Photos by Charlie McDonald
Naples Heritage truly Cares
Naples Heritage Cares recently donated $7,050 to The Shelter following a month-long fundraising campaign.
2018 Options Fashion Show
Options held its eighth annual fashion show, Sunday, March 11, at The Shelter Option Shoppe, 968 2nd Ave. North in Naples, FL. Chairs of this year’s fashion show were Sharon Sheline and Lynn Wigton. View Photos from the show.
Give Where You Live 2018
Thanks to your generosity, The Shelter raised $13,460 during the 2018 Give Where You Live Collier campaign, Feb. 21-22, 2018. Organized by the Community Foundation of Collier County, this year’s Give Where You Live Collier campaign raised over $3 million, benefiting 38 local nonprofits with 2,303 donations (756 offline and 1,547 online) – an increase of 25% over last year.
Planned giving reception
On Jan. 16, The Shelter’s Board of Directors, Board of Trustees and the Planned Giving Advisory Council honored Circle of Peace members, The Shelter’s planned giving society, during a reception held at a private club in Naples. Members were presented with a custom designed pin and personally thanked by CEO Linda Oberhaus for their generous commitment to The Shelter.
Mending Broken Hearts with Hope Luncheon 2018
Over 800 people attended The Shelter for Abused Women & Children’s 18th Annual Mending Broken Hearts with Hope Luncheon, Monday, Feb. 19, 2018, at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples, FL. The event included a two-day designer boutique that was open to the public.
GADV Men’s Tailgate 2018 photos
Over 200 men attended the 7th Annual Gentle’men Against Domestic Violence Men’s Tailgate, Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018, at Grey Oaks Country Club in Naples. Themed Casino Royale, the evening included casino-style gaming, live music and a rousing presentation from keynote speaker Troy Vincent, Vice President of Operations for the National Football League.
Letter to the editor – Sentence for Sawicki’s abuser didn’t fit the crime
Naples Daily News
To the Editor:
As CEO of The Shelter for Abused Women & Children, I applaud former Cape Coral Mayor Marni Sawicki for her courage in facing her self-confessed abuser Kenneth Retzer at his sentencing, last week. The chilling cell phone footage of Retzer’s violent attack on Sawicki in a Miami hotel room is gruesome and a clear indication of his threat to society.
Unfortunately, Retzer’s lenient sentencing of a year of community control and three years of probation is not reflective of the severity of his crime. Strangulation battery is a third degree felony and a lethal indicator of domestic violence homicide. Had Retzer battered and strangled a complete stranger, there is no doubt he would be sentenced to jail time. Are known victims of violent crime somehow less worthy of justice?
The judge’s order for Retzer to complete anger management classes suggests a common misconception. Domestic violence is not about anger management; it is about power and control. Described by his attorney as a remarkable firefighter and dedicated public servant, it seems that Retzer manages his anger very well. Abusers meticulously choose when, where and on whom they will inflict their violence. Outsiders are often shocked when an abuser is exposed.
The fact that this violent crime happened during a National Mayor’s Conference shows that domestic violence crosses all boundaries. It can and does happen to anyone. As a society, we need to avoid victim blaming, focus on the perpetrator and hold them accountable for their crimes. We will never end violence in our community if we do not first end violence in our homes.
The Shelter’s crisis line is available 24-7 at 239-775-1101.
Linda Oberhaus, CEO
The Shelter for Abused Women & Children
Upcoming Featured Speakers at Shelter Events
NFL Executive Vice President and former football great Troy Vincent will be the keynote speaker during Men’s Tailgate, Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018, at Gray Oaks Country Club. Gayle Tzemach Lemmon a foreign policy reporter out of Afghanistan and a women’s rights activist, will be the key note speaker at Mending Broken Hearts With Hope Luncheon, Monday, Feb. 19, 2018, at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, and Jennifer Hyman, CEO of Rent the Runway, will be the featured speaker during the 2018 Old Bags Luncheon, Wednesday, April 4, 2018, at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort
Slavery in our midst
Collier Citizen
January 27, 2018
By Lance Shearer
The amazing thing is, slavery is happening today, in 2018, and all around us in our own community.
We tend to think of slavery or human trafficking as something from long ago or taking place in faraway lands. But as a group at the Naples Sailing & Yacht Club found out on Jan. 19, though, it is happening in this century, right here in Collier County.
Naples Community Church hosted the presentation to boost awareness of human trafficking, in recognition that January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. The approximately 110 attending the luncheon heard from two people who are intimately involved in dealing with the problem, Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk and Linda Oberhaus, CEO of the Shelter for Abused Women and Children.
Human trafficking can involve forced labor, often agricultural; domestic servitude in the trafficker’s or another home; and sex trafficking, Rambosk and Oberhaus told the gathering, taking turns and “tag-teaming” the presentation. Because such a high percentage of the human trafficking, especially that which ordinary citizens are likely to come across in our area, is sex trafficking, that was the focus of most of the discussion.
The presenters said that much of what we think we know about sex trafficking is wrong. While physical force may be used to control the victims, often filling a young girl’s emotional needs, creating dependency is the trafficker’s method. Providing drugs, particularly heroin, then withholding it, is a proven strategy to establish control.
Very often, victims are not locked away in captivity, but seemingly free to come and go, maybe even teens living in their own home with parents.
Traffickers use “coercive control we call ‘invisible chains,’” said Oberhaus. “One trafficker had a girl call her parents every night, to tell them she was OK. She thought of that trafficker as her boyfriend.”
The “boyfriends” seduce, coerce or entrap their victims into a horrendous routine. Young girls are forced to perform 25 to 45 sex acts per day, said Oberhaus, six days a week. A single victim can earn $90,000 to $320,000 per year for her abuser.
More than 50 percent of sex trafficking victims are juveniles, said Rambosk, and worldwide, 90 percent
are women and children. Often, he said, “we may not recognize the signs” of sex trafficking, “even when it is happening right in front of us.”
The signs vary widely, but can include injuries from beatings, brands or scarring indicating ownership, or even signs of torture. Often, victims will be reluctant to talk to a law enforcement officer unless given permission, be frequently moved, live on or near their work premises, have a lack of private space or personal possessions and limited knowledge of how to get around in the community. Conversely, victims may be in possession of large amounts of cash, drugs and extra cell phones. They may appear highly sexualized or attempt to recruit other girls into suspicious activity with a third-party male.
When someone else has possession of legal or travel documents, the victim is kept in a state of perpetual debt, or a third party insists on interpreting, these are signs of potential trafficking. Often, emotional dependence is strong, and victims will refuse to testify, or even go back to an abuser after law enforcement intervention.
“Out of 22 victims in the last trafficking case we had,” said Rambosk, “there are several we’ve helped to move on, but two overdosed and died, and half of them are right back in that same dilemma. We need to break that cycle.”
The Sheriff’s Office and the Shelter for Abused Women and Children work together to identify, rescue and shelter victims of trafficking, with law enforcement also focusing on putting the traffickers behind bars. With a five-person Human Trafficking Unit established in 2005, Collier County is proactive in fighting modern-day slavery. Higher numbers of cases, prosecutions and victims doesn’t mean there is more trafficking here, said Rambosk, rather that local law enforcement agencies are constantly on the lookout for trafficking operations.
The average stay at the shelter is six to eight weeks, but Oberhaus said for victims of domestic abuse it is more like six to eight months for trafficking victims who have been rescued. To help address the growing need, especially in eastern Collier, the shelter has launched a capital campaign to build a 20,000- square foot, 32-bed shelter on five acres in Immokalee. It is named the Shelly Stayer Shelter, after the benefactor who provided a $3-million lead gift to jumpstart the project.
If you suspect human trafficking, you can call the National Human Trafficking Hotline, but in Collier,you are likely to find a faster response by calling
911 if a person is at immediate risk, or 239-2529300, the sheriff’s non-emergency number. For more information on the Shelter, or to support their work, call 239-7753862 or go online to naplesshelter.org.
Naples luncheon spotlights human trafficking
Marco Island Eagle
January 26, 2018
By Lance Shearer
The amazing thing is, slavery is happening today, in 2018, and all around us in our own community.
We tend to think of slavery or human trafficking as something from long ago or taking place in faraway lands. But as a group at the Naples Sailing & Yacht Club found out on Jan. 19, though, it is happening in this century, right here in Collier County.
Naples Community Church hosted the presentation to boost awareness of human trafficking, in recognition that January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. The approximately 110 attending the luncheon heard from two people who are intimately involved in dealing with the problem, Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk and Linda Oberhaus, CEO of the Shelter for Abused Women and Children.
Human trafficking can involve forced labor, often agricultural; domestic servitude in the trafficker’s or another home; and sex trafficking, Rambosk and Oberhaus told the gathering, taking turns and “tag-teaming” the presentation. Because such a high percentage of the human trafficking, especially that which ordinary citizens are likely to come across in our area, is sex trafficking, that was the focus of most of the discussion.
The presenters said that much of what we think we know about sex trafficking is wrong. While physical force may be used to control the victims, often filling a young girl’s emotional needs, creating dependency is the trafficker’s method. Providing drugs, particularly heroin, then withholding it, is a proven strategy to establish control.
Very often, victims are not locked away in captivity, but seemingly free to come and go, maybe even teens living in their own home with parents.
Traffickers use “coercive control we call ‘invisible chains,’” said Oberhaus. “One trafficker had a girl call her parents every night, to tell them she was OK. She thought of that trafficker as her boyfriend.”
The “boyfriends” seduce, coerce or entrap their victims into a horrendous routine. Young girls are forced to perform 25 to 45 sex acts per day, said Oberhaus, six days a week. A single victim can earn $90,000 to $320,000 per year for her abuser.
More than 50 percent of sex trafficking victims are juveniles, said Rambosk, and worldwide, 90 percent
are women and children. Often, he said, “we may not recognize the signs” of sex trafficking, “even when it is happening right in front of us.”
The signs vary widely, but can include injuries from beatings, brands or scarring indicating ownership, or even signs of torture. Often, victims will be reluctant to talk to a law enforcement officer unless given permission, be frequently moved, live on or near their work premises, have a lack of private space or personal possessions and limited knowledge of how to get around in the community. Conversely, victims may be in possession of large amounts of cash, drugs and extra cell phones. They may appear highly sexualized or attempt to recruit other girls into suspicious activity with a third-party male.
When someone else has possession of legal or travel documents, the victim is kept in a state of perpetual debt, or a third party insists on interpreting, these are signs of potential trafficking. Often, emotional dependence is strong, and victims will refuse to testify, or even go back to an abuser after law enforcement intervention.
“Out of 22 victims in the last trafficking case we had,” said Rambosk, “there are several we’ve helped to move on, but two overdosed and died, and half of them are right back in that same dilemma. We need to break that cycle.”
The Sheriff’s Office and the Shelter for Abused Women and Children work together to identify, rescue and shelter victims of trafficking, with law enforcement also focusing on putting the traffickers behind bars. With a five-person Human Trafficking Unit established in 2005, Collier County is proactive in fighting modern-day slavery. Higher numbers of cases, prosecutions and victims doesn’t mean there is more trafficking here, said Rambosk, rather that local law enforcement agencies are constantly on the lookout for trafficking operations.
The average stay at the shelter is six to eight weeks, but Oberhaus said for victims of domestic abuse it is more like six to eight months for trafficking victims who have been rescued. To help address the growing need, especially in eastern Collier, the shelter has launched a capital campaign to build a 20,000- square foot, 32-bed shelter on five acres in Immokalee. It is named the Shelly Stayer Shelter, after the benefactor who provided a $3-million lead gift to jumpstart the project.
If you suspect human trafficking, you can call the National Human Trafficking Hotline, but in Collier,you are likely to find a faster response by calling
911 if a person is at immediate risk, or 239-2529300, the sheriff’s non-emergency number. For more information on the Shelter, or to support their work, call 239-7753862 or go online to naplesshelter.org.
Collier proclaims January Human Trafficking Awareness Month
On Jan. 23, Collier County Commissioners proclaimed January Human Trafficking Awareness Month in Collier County. Accepting the proclamation from left, front: Sgt. Wade Williams, Det. Andy Henchesmoore, Marisol Scholendorn, Shelter CEO Linda Oberhaus, Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk and Lt. Jason Wrobleski.
#MeToo movement a reminder of victims who fear speaking out
Naples Daily News Editorial
January 13, 2018
The #MeToo movement has brought vital attention to the need for zero tolerance of sexual harassment and assault. It’s unmasked unacceptable behavior by well-known figures in the entertainment and media industries. It’s left seats vacant in Congress and the Florida Senate.
Much praise is due to those victims who bravely stepped forward to say, “Enough. This has to stop.”
As the movement gains momentum, we’re also reminded this is a specially designated month for attention to other victims who are trapped, too afraid to speak out and without the means to readily do so.
These are sexual assault victims in forced prostitution rings and financial occupational prisoners of human traffickers. Yes, these women and children who are modern-day slaves are among us in Southwest Florida just as anywhere else.
January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month. The state and region are fortunate to have government, institutional and community organizations and leaders collaborating to raise awareness and bring traffickers to justice, along with tending to the victims’ needs.
Among many, there’s Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, Gov. Rick Scott, lawmakers, sheriff’s offices in Collier and Lee, Florida Gulf Coast University’s Human Trafficking Resource Center and organizations such as the Women’s Foundation of Southwest Florida and Shelter for Abused Women & Children in Collier County.
Why so many resources? FGCU center statistics show there were 75 law enforcement investigations into human trafficking in a seven-county region from Naples to Sarasota in 2014 and 2015.
Done, yet to do
+ The federal Frederick Douglass bipartisan act passed in July was “the most significant legislation regarding human trafficking,” shelter officials said in a statement. It “allocates $520 million over four years toward programs to identify and aid victims of trafficking and prevent it from occurring.”
+ Florida lawmakers have passed several laws since 2014 to crack down on human trafficking, from creating harsher penalties to measures ensuring the continued safety and solidifying the futures of children who become trafficking victims. Notably, there was the 2015 law requiring the posting of human trafficking awareness signs at rest stops, airports, emergency rooms and strip clubs.
Collier Sheriff’s Office officials said in a statement these posters have been an asset, though it’s “difficult to assess their direct value as an investigative tool because many of our human trafficking tips come to us anonymously through our tips line or the National Human Trafficking Resource Center tips line.”
As to the effectiveness of other measures? “We can say that we support any legislation that helps take human trafficking criminals off the streets,” Sheriff’s Office officials said.
+ Pending is a federal act that would provide money to the Labor Department for training law enforcement officers on how to identify victims. “The more education we provide to emergency personnel, the more victims we will be able to save,” the shelter statement says. The Collier shelter says the 49 trafficking victims it’s helped were identified by law enforcement.
+ A bill pending in the 2018 Legislature would require hotels and motels to have training programs for employees on identifying and reporting suspected human trafficking.
+ Nearly a year ago the Collier shelter began a campaign to raise $10.4 million in 18 months toward providing a shelter in the Immokalee area for victims of human trafficking and domestic violence. More than $7 million is donated and pledged so far, a spokeswoman said. More information on donating: naplesshelter.org/immokalee/
+ If you suspect someone is a victim, the always-staffed National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline is 1-888-373-7888 or text 233733 (BE FREE). Locally, call the shelter’s 24-hour crisis hotline at 239-775-1101.
New data program to help counter human trafficking
Naples Daily News Guest Commentary
January 19, 2018
My habitual monitoring of human-trafficking news revealed a story every week or so just a few years ago. Now every day my inbox is loaded with at least three news stories about human-trafficking victims and the vile criminals who prey upon them.
Recently, I learned a Naples girl was sold for sex on the internet by a human trafficker. Don’t be shocked – it’s true! Websites like Backpage.com have a loophole that makes it legal for their advertisers to post ads selling underage girls for sex on the internet.
That’s why I’m shaking my head that Congress, after months of investigation, deliberation, committee hearings and outrage, has failed to amend Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act.
A simple and widely supported amendment to Section 230 will close the loophole that creates a Wild West playing field for human traffickers to make billions off internet transactions that exploit our most vulnerable citizens – especially children.
We must keep up our grass-roots efforts to encourage Congress to pass the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act of 2017 (SESTA), Senate Bill 1693, which was introduced in the Senate in August and is co-sponsored by Florida Sens. Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson.
To turn your outrage into action, let your congressional representatives know that you support SESTA.
This type of internet-based human trafficking must stop. We know from the Polaris Project, one of the largest anti-trafficking organizations in the U.S., that “people in the modern anti-trafficking field have struggled to identify and disrupt human-trafficking networks in the United States. This movement to stop modern slavery has confronted many challenges, and one of the most significant has been the absence of data that shows how human trafficking operates.”
We learned several years ago that the lack of accurate data and privacy issues represented major obstacles for law enforcement, victim services and legal professionals in quantifying the problem and securing adequate resources to combat human trafficking. At the request of the U.S. attorney serving this region at the time, the Southwest Florida Women’s Foundation responded to the challenge and began exploring options for obtaining and developing accurate, useful data.
After several trials and errors, our foundation developed an innovative human-trafficking data program in cooperation with the Southwest Florida Human Task Force under the leadership of our 20th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office.
The database includes information about gender, age range, type of trafficking and risk factors. This information will be centralized, analyzed and reported out by the State Attorney’s Office. The resulting data will not only deepen our understanding of human trafficking but will reflect trends over time and validate the specific resources needed to bolster the professional efforts of local and statewide agencies.
We will continue to raise public awareness and advocate for policies to help our law enforcement, prosecution and victim support agencies obtain the tools and resources they need to remain fully equipped to investigate, prosecute and punish human-trafficking crimes, as well as to support human-trafficking survivors once they are safe.
Additionally, the Southwest Florida Women’s Foundation will be hosting two events in February. One is geared toward training legal and human-trafficking victim support professionals. The other is a community outreach effort to educate local leaders about the scourge of human trafficking. For further information about these events, contact Charlotte Newell at charlotte@fundwomenfl.org or go to the foundation’s website, www.fundwomenfl.org/cc-events.
Armed with accurate data and sustained with ample resources, dedicated professionals of the Southwest Florida Human Trafficking Task Force will be better equipped to dismantle those criminal networks which ensnare farmworkers in labor trafficking and trap innocent children in sex trafficking. Now is the time to turn our outrage into action!
Naples Daily News Guest Commentary, Jan. 21, 2018
Naples Daily News Guest Commentary
By Linda Oberhaus
Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018
Even as our community gathered to celebrate freedom and equality during the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration last week, countless Collier County residents are living in bondage, enslaved by traffickers.
January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month. As you read this commentary, it is important to note that human trafficking is the fastest growing and third largest organized criminal activity in the world, just behind the drug and arms trades. It is very lucrative. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, a trafficker can make up to $150,000-$200,000 per person each year, and the average trafficker has four to six victims.
Unlike what is portrayed by the movie industry, victims are seldom “taken,” but more likely lured into trafficking with promises of employment or through feigned romantic or trusted relationships. Some victims are introduced to traffickers by a “friend” or relative. The most vulnerable populations include runaway and homeless youth, as well as victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Once caught in the trap, traffickers control their victims with a variety of tactics including violence, threats, debt bondage, and drugs. Once caught, it is very difficult to get out.
Trafficking can happen to anyone, anywhere, and yes, it is happening in Naples, FL.
According to Polaris, which operates the National Human Trafficking Hotline, the state of Florida ranks third in the nation, with 550 cases in 2016. Texas is second with 670 cases and California first, with 1,300 cases. We know this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Here in Collier County, we are fighting back. The Sheriff’s Office Human Trafficking Unit leads the region in the number of human trafficking investigations and arrests. From 2014-2016, the unit investigated more than 80 sex trafficking cases and arrested 20 traffickers; however, the fight to rid our community of this horrific crime is daunting.
Two years after their arrests for sex trafficking and racketeering, Keith Lewis and Gregory Hines still await trial in Collier County jail. Of the 22 women they victimized, only four have agreed to testify against their perpetrators, and two have died of drug overdoses.
Even with their traffickers in jail, officials say these victims are in so deep, they cannot see a way out. Most were usurped by other traffickers and remain on the streets, suffering serious physical and emotional injuries as well as addiction and mental health issues related to the trauma they have experienced.
Headway in the fight against trafficking can only be accomplished through education, intervention and availability of long-term recovery services. The Shelter is committed to providing these services through our newest facility, the Shelly Stayer Shelter for Victims of Human Trafficking & Domestic Violence. This summer we will break ground on this unique 32-bed, 21,000-square-foot facility located on 5.6 acres in Immokalee. This new shelter will feature a wing specifically designed to meet the specialized needs of human trafficking victims, as well as a separate wing for survivors of domestic violence.
Unfortunately, few victims of human trafficking ever come forward. They are invisible victims of unspeakable crimes, and it is up to each of us to learn to recognize the signs of human trafficking and report anything suspicious. Please go to naplesshelter.org/trafficking for more information about how you can help identify human trafficking and become part of the solution.
If you know or suspect that someone is a victim of human trafficking or domestic violence, call The Shelter’s 24-hour crisis hotline at 239-775-1101.
Linda Oberhaus and Kamela Patton featured in Naples Illustrated
Naples Illustrated featured The Shelter for Abused Women & Children CEO Linda Oberhaus and Shelter Board Member Dr. Kamela Patton, Superintendent of Collier County Public Schools, in their Special 20th Anniversary Edition. The two were among 20 Leading Ladies honored for affecting change in Naples.
Other recipients included Terry Edwards, Elizabeth Star, Kristen Coury, Joyce Hagen, Kathy Bigham, Amy Brazil D’Amico, Katie Sproul, Maria Jimenez-Lara, Mary Beth Geier, Eileen Connolly-Keesler, Leslie Lascheid, Julie Schmelzle, Stephanie Spell, Theresa Shaw, Marianne Kearns, Tabatha Butcher, and Kathy Curatolo, Aysegul Timur.
CLICK ON THE PHOTOS TO VIEW FULL STORIES
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The Shelter’s pet kennel allows survivors to bring their pets with them when they come to emergency shelter. CLICK HERE for more information.
