JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Sandra Shin is sharing her story of survival with Action News Jax.
When Shin was 11-years-old in Jamaica, her mother forced her into human trafficking.
Shin was sexually abused and used as way to pay for her parent's rent.
"What I experienced as a young girl, going through that shame, loss of identity, loss of relationship, I just loss all of myself," Shin said.
It wasn't until she found God years later, as an adult, that she finally felt valued.
In 2012, she decided to create a ministry called Hope 4 Freedom to help others out of the same nightmare she experienced.
Shin says that human trafficking is happening right here in our community.
One place she meets a lot of victims is at local homeless shelters.
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"They target these people which is so evil. When I speak of it, it just makes my blood boil. But we go into places like this, and we hear stories. One lady, she came up to me and she said my daughter is in it," Shin said.
She's even visited women in strip clubs and on the streets to try and get them away from their traffickers.
Shin says it's important for people to recognize the signs of human trafficking. "You ask a question, and they're not able to give you direct answers. They're not able to tell you directly where they live," she said. This is a way a person may be able to help save a victim's life. She said nearly all of those trafficked won't survive.
Shin says she's educating people about human trafficking at schools, churches, and other businesses, that way her story and her message will be passed on to others as a way to prevent human trafficking before it happens.
Hope 4 Freedom is hosting their second Walk for Freedom on Nov. 2 on Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon at Jax Church on Bowden Road to help raise awareness about human trafficking.
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