Survive and Thrive Advocacy Center Inc

Survive and Thrive Advocacy Center (STAC) is a local nonprofit organization based in Tallahassee, FL. We support sex and labor trafficking survivors from six counties in this very rural region of North Florida. We also fortify our communities against trafficking through education and community building. Since 2017, STAC has trained over 8,000 people including law enforcement, healthcare professionals, schools, justice system representatives, middle and high school students, area nonprofits, faith communities, and the community-at-large.

STAC provides emergency and long-term case management and care for survivors working as a hub, or a single point of contact, for anyone who might encounter a sex or labor trafficking victim. We work in close collaboration with community partners to provide needed services, such as shelter, healthcare, legal aid, education, jobs and other supports. The trauma and impacts of human trafficking on a person last long beyond the initial first steps of surviving a trafficking situation. This is why we walk with trafficking survivors throughout their journey to help them survive AND thrive.

Rural and underserved communities rarely receive resources for trafficking survivor support, protections, and community responses, and this need keeps on growing. COVID-19 has resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of sex and labor trafficking survivors seeking help, tripling STAC’s caseload. The pandemic has left many people vulnerable and economically devastated. Traffickers see these vulnerabilities and target people who are in need, making the need for funding even more urgent.

Your gift of any amount supports sex and labor trafficking survivors and will provide educational programming so that we can build knowledge and support throughout our region.

Here are just a few specific ways your gift can make a difference:

$25 – Provides a comfort pack with emergency essentials (toothbrush, shampoo, razor, feminine hygiene products, etc.) for a survivor who has just escaped a trafficking situation

$30 – Pays for transportation to go to a medical appointment, job interview, etc. (Uber, Lyft, bus pass)

$50 – Helps buy a survivor clothes and shoes as well as obtain identification documents (usually stolen by traffickers)

$100 – Funds a bus ticket for a survivor who needs to safely relocate (oftentimes quickly) to another location

$150 – Provides a new cell phone and monthly service for a survivor (so traffickers cannot trace them)

$200 – Assists a survivor with paying rent while they are rebuilding their lives

$500 – Helps underwrite the cost of one training session by STAC

We are faced with an urgent need to work in underserved communities to overcome barriers made worse by COVID-19. Long term, if STAC cannot support local communities and if work is not done to build networks that connect and inform communities, particularly communities of color and the underserved, more adults and children alike will be increasingly vulnerable to and endangered by human traffickers. Give today and help us serve those most in need of support, resources, and assistance!

If you need help or would like to attend a training, please watch this video and visit our website SurviveAndThriveAdvocacy.org to learn more!