Skip Orth is known locally as an expert on lawn care. But he’s also garnering recognition as an author on a mission to help stop human trafficking.
Orth recently published a book called “If I could talk to you about human trafficking this is what I would say…”
The 117-page book describes the complicated issues involving women who work in the sex industry but does so in an easy-to-read format.
The book came to fruition after Orth was disturbed by a dream he had about a desperate woman who trapped in a bad situation. “The dream was so real it troubled me for some time,” he said.
About a year later, he found himself watching a documentary about a couple who rescue women from red light districts and recalled the dream, which had left him feeling compassion for the victim.
He was motivated him to start researching the subject and that fueled a fire to expose the ugly, unseen truth.
“My purpose for writing this book is twofold. First, I want to bring awareness to a systematic abuse being perpetrated on a specific group of vulnerable individuals in America as well as around the world,” he wrote.
According to a Jan. 22 press release issued by Florida Governor Rick Scott, more than 1,200 incidents of human trafficking were reported through the Florida Abuse Hotline during federal fiscal year 2014-2015.
And it’s not just a problem plaguing Florida. The Polaris Project advocacy group estimates around 100,000 kids are currently trapped in the commercial sex trade of human trafficking
Orth said vulnerable young women and pre-adolescent girls as young as 10 years old are “preyed” upon by sex traffickers who “can profit hundreds of thousands of dollars a year from a single girl.”
Not content to just expose the truth about human trafficking and how women can get lure in and become trapped, Orth also set out to find a solution to help those were able to escape.
So his second purpose in writing the book was to highlight the effort of Refuge for Women, a non-profit, faith-based organization which provides shelter, counseling, substance abuse recovery, job training and mentoring for women and girls who have escaped the sex trade.
Established in 2009, the Kentucky-based organization operates six recovery homes and has achieved a 94-percent success rate with more than 100 graduates of their program who have not returned to the sex industry or substance abuse.
Founded by Ked and Michelle Frank, the ministry focuses on healing, life skills and employment and option aftercare.
Orth’s book highlights one of the Refuge’s success stories — a former porn actress and Madame who now speaks out against the dangers of pornography and its connection with human trafficking.
To order a copy of Orth’s book or to learn more about the recovery program, visit www.refugeforwomen.org.
