CityView Magazine

46 | November/December • 2014 The Fayetteville Dream Center A handsome young man connects with a beautiful young girl, maybe as young as 12 or 13, on Instagram or Facebook. "Meet me at a party," he pleaded. "You're so beautiful. Would you like to model? I'm having auditions!" Or to the girl that seems strapped for cash, he said promis- ingly, "I've got a job for you. Deliver these cellphones and I'll pay you." When the girl finally accepts his offer, she's whisked away...into a nightmare of forced, drugged sex. She never sees a dol- lar, only endless threats: "You see these pictures of you? I'll show them to your youth group at church." If that doesn't work, her captor said, "I'll kill you if you leave." at's all it takes, in this high-tech so- ciety, for girls to become victims in ever- growing human trafficking rings in the United States. Fayetteville residents may be surprised to know it's happening to our girls, too. "It all started with drugs. It's pretty normal for everyone at my high school to be smoking pot. I got talked into other things at parties and was then offered a modeling job by a 'photographer.' e only place my photos were posted were online - for sale. I had no idea until he took me to a hotel room, with a gun, and told me I had to make $2,000 before I could go," said a 17-year-old trafficked victim from a local high school. Aer the Special Victims Unit rescues a victim, Kelly Twedell, executive direc- tor of e Fayetteville Dream Center, is there to help. "I sit with her. I eat with her. I go to court with her. I am her advocate," said Twedell. Aer contacting a guardian, the de- partment of social services or the Child Advocacy Center, Twedell facilitates a long healing process, which begins with enrolling the women in a restoration program in Louisiana, Alabama, or even Charlotte, where victims go to receive treatment and further their education. e ultimate goal is for victims to be con- fidently integrated back into society. e Dream Center pays for them to get to the restoration centers. Location is critical to escape former captors, as Twedell noted, "We hear from survivors that it's better to Brandeis stroud from Walgreens on skibo giving flu shots Kelly Twedell, executive director of The Fayetteville Dream Center with Department Officer saunders, Homeless liaison for Fayetteville police

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