Tampa

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The Tampa Division honors Laura Hamilton for providing a long-term therapeutic safe home to rehabilitate youth who have been rescued from sex trafficking in Florida. Florida is ranked third in the nation for human trafficking.

With grant-funded mentorship through Wellspring Living in Georgia, Ms. Hamilton serves as president of Bridging Freedom, a holistic, individualized, and interdisciplinary campus for children who have been traumatized by commercial sexual exploitation. The program model provides a safe and secure home environment, clinical trauma therapy, health management, education, life skills, career development, transitional mentorship/relationships, love, and a restored childhood.

Ms. Hamilton has more than 30 years of experience working with the corporate and faith-based communities within Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Polk Counties. Her specialties are business development, program planning, intellectual property, grant proposals and management, teaching, and youth discipleship. Ms. Hamilton collaborates with the law enforcement members of the Clearwater/Tampa Bay Area Task Force on Human Trafficking, which includes local police, sheriffs’ departments, federal law enforcement partners, and many professionals from communities and universities statewide.