The Greater Hernando County Chamber of Commerce hosted its monthly chamber breakfast last Wednesday. The theme of the breakfast was human trafficking.
The monthly membership meeting and breakfast is held at the Sand Hill Scout Reservation Lodge every fourth Wednesday of the month. This past meeting’s sponsor was Brijbag Law, a personal injury attorney in Spring Hill, Florida.
The event’s guest speaker was Alan Wilkett, president of Warrior 321. Wilkett is a former law enforcement officer in Pasco County who is now dedicated to the fight against human trafficking. In 2017, he was awarded Human Trafficking Summit Law Enforcement Official of the Year and received the Lifetime Achievement Award from The Florida Crime Prevention Association in 2019. Warrior 321 is a team of trained volunteers led by Anti-human trafficking experts with over 25 years of law enforcement. It’s mission is to “to advocate for the vulnerable and marginalized in our communities affected by sex and labor trafficking.”
Wilkett spoke about some of the latest statistics from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children during his speech. He said that many of the missing children are being exploited by family members or people who are close to them.
“It’s not just somebody being moved from place to place, although that happens,” said Wilkett. “We now have to be on guard for trafficking that happens within the home.”
He also identified three ways predators often use to come after children: social media, gaming systems, and digital devices.
“The most dangerous place for a child to be alone in America is alone in their bedroom with a digital device,” said Wilkett. ”Because while we take great strides on protecting our kids by locks and sirens, and burglar alarms and security systems and ring doorbells. Oftentimes, we put a world of predators in their hands with one of these social media apps.”
Since dedicating himself to raising awareness for human trafficking, Wilkett has trained law enforcement, churches, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and federal, state, and local agencies to recognize the signs of human trafficking.
Wilkett formed a partnership with Macy’s in Wiregrass to give children from local boys’ and girls’ human trafficking shelters a private shopping spree and gift cards to buy anything they wanted from Macy’s.
To show their gratitude for the shopping trip, the boys gave Wilkett a T-shirt with their handprints on the back and a note that said, “Thank you for seeing us.”
“Please, whatever you do, please see them,” said Wilkett. “They’re in your stores. Your business has come across them. We walk across them from time to time. We travel, and we see them. But do we really see them? Please. Please. Please. Please, on their behalf, please see them.”
