This event took place on January 6th, 2022
The truth is that Freedom From Violence is critically tied to Health & Well-being. According to The U.S. Dept. Health and Human Services, Office on Women’s Health:
Violence against women, including sexual or physical violence, is linked to many long-term health problems. These can include:
- Arthritis
- Asthma
- Chronic pain
- Digestive problems such as stomach ulcers
- Heart problems
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Nightmares and problems sleeping
- Migraine headaches
- Sexual problems such as pain during sex
- Stress
- Problems with the immune system
Many women also have mental health problems after violence. To cope with the effects of the violence, some women start misusing alcohol or drugs or engage in risky behaviors, such as having unprotected sex. Sexual violence can also affect someone’s perception of their own bodies, leading to unhealthy eating patterns or eating disorders. If you are experiencing these problems, know that you are not alone. There are resources that can help you cope with these challenges.
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Jenny Drice specializes in Geriatrician, Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Disease, and Hospital Medicine in Miami, Florida. Dr. Jenny Drice is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area, including University of Miami Hospital and Clinics–UHealth Tower and Jackson Health System-Miami. She received her medical degree from Howard University College of Medicine and has been in practice for more than 20 years.
Panelists
Milagros “Millie” Maldonado is the executive director of the Trauma Resolution Center, a non-profit mental health agency with 26 years providing trauma-informed services in Miami-Dade. Milagros is a Florida licensed mental health counselor and senior trainer of the evidenced-based model, Traumatic Incident Reduction (TIR). Milagros graduated from Albizu University with a master’s in Psychology focused on mental health counseling. Her interest in finding the reason for people’s behavior based on her own experience led her to work with trauma victims. She has trained 100’s of mental health professionals throughout her career as a supervisor, mentor, and consultant.
Millie’s Clinical View of Trauma:
We are all born with this invisible backpack where we carry our life experiences. The good ones feel weightless, while the chronic stressful and adverse traumatic experiences feel heavy and cause physical, emotional, and psychological pain. With this belief, I guide therapists to help their clients choose the experiences they are willing to face and find resolution and healing. When you work through a trauma lens, you see a person’s behavior as a cause of their experience, not pathology. My goal is to provide a safe space where clients heal. Healing is as individual as the person who carries the load. I consider myself privileged to help in their process, especially to be trusted on their healing journey.
Dr. Schaeffer graduated as valedictorian of her college, earning dual majors of Biology and Psychology. She earned her MD from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in 1998. As a medical student, she was inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society, and was elected “Ethics Representative” for her class. Her Internal Medicine internship was completed at Jackson Memorial Medical Center.
• Dr. Schaeffer has been a licensed Florida physician since 2000 and has helped patients in private and public health care settings. For almost a decade, Dr. Schaeffer has committed her efforts to increasing awareness of Human Trafficking amongfellow clinicians. She has educated Emergency Department staff and thousands of students and faculty throughout South Florida.
• Dr. Schaeffer is a nationally recognized expert in Human Trafficking awareness and intervention andhas been instrumental in developing and helping to pass Human Trafficking legislation at local, state, and federal levels. She has lectured at Florida Atlantic University, Nova Southeastern University,and the Human Trafficking Academy at the St. Thomas School of Law.
• Dr. Schaeffer’s work has been featured in multiple media broadcasts and print publications. She was awarded the State of Florida’s “Human Trafficking Advocate of the Year Award” at the 2017 Human Trafficking Summit.
• Dr. Schaeffer closely collaborates with several Human Trafficking Task Forces and has served on the executive boards of many coalitions. She is an Advisory Board member of KidSafe Foundation and Place of Hope, and has been re-elected District 1 Director of Soroptimist International of the Americas’ Southern Region. For many years, Dr. Schaeffer also has been an active voice of the American Medical Women’s Association and its “Physicians Against the Trafficking of Humans Committee.”
• Dr. Schaeffer is faculty at the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies. She is also a Clinical Affiliate Assistant Professor at the FAU College of Medicine and an active Advisory Board member of NSU’s College of Healthcare Sciences.
For 20 years, Maria Clara Harrington has been serving young survivors of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation and sex trafficking through counseling, advocacy and outreach. As the Training and Outreach Coordinator for the Citrus Health Network Chance Program, she is in a role that enables her to combine her experience working directly with survivors for many years, her understanding and compassion for survivors, with her skills as an educator, to train, raise awareness and understanding of child sexual exploitation. As a lead trainer, she has helped several other local, state, national and international communities launch a trauma informed response, bringing together agencies involved in these complex cases.
Ms. Harrington continues to collaborate with other organizations in the development of a community-based, survivor and trauma informed approach to Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children that holds the promise of healing and restoring the life of exploited youth. Additionally, she currently serves as Chair of the Services Committee of the South Florida Human Trafficking Task Force, is also a fellow of the National Human Trafficking Leadership Academy and serves as a consultant for the National Human Trafficking Technical Assistance Center.
Ms. Harrington started her career in this field in 2001 at Kristi House and it was there, where she started working directly with survivors of sex trafficking and sexual exploitation in 2008 within Kristi House’s Program Project GOLD, founded by Sandy Skelaney. Maria Clara was in the trenches for many years, from responding to the 24-hour crisis hotline, leading teams of volunteers and going out at night from 12am to 4am looking for missing children and others who were on the streets, to advocating for the youth and providing supportive services. She also went into at-risk schools working with girls through a 16-week prevention and empowerment program. In 2013, Ms. Harrington had the opportunity to lead the launch of the first specialized Project GOLD drop-in center in the state of Florida for young female survivors of sexual exploitation. For five years she oversaw the day-to-day operations of the drop-in center and led a dedicated team of professionals working around the clock to provide support, mental health, educational, mentoring and enrichment services to child survivors of sexual exploitation and sex trafficking.
Maria Clara holds a master’s degree in School Counseling from NOVA Southeastern University.
Maria Clara was the recipient of Florida’s Attorney General Pam Bondi’s 2015 Distinguished Victim Services Award, the Global Initiative Consulting Network’s 2019 Outstanding Leadership Award and the Junior League of Miami Women Who Make A Difference 2020 award.
Laurie Scop has a background in social work focused largely on safety and health issues, including Adverse Childhood Experiences, and she has worked in all three areas of the social justice arena. She presently works for Thriving Mind South Florida and is an AmeriCorps alumni who has completed tens of thousands of volunteer service hours over the course of her lifetime, including helping to lead the Women’s Rally in South Florida. Laurie is currently involved with many community organizations, including Ruth’s List Miami and Junior League of Miami, is a graduate of National Council of Jewish Women’s Listen & Engage Leadership Program, and she serves on several nonprofit boards in South Florida, including MUJER, as well as a national board. Her interest in serving women and children stems from her personal history of having survived 13 years of incest, and serious illness caused by years of complex trauma which left her in a nursing home as a young woman, unexpected to recover. A believer in transformational leadership and the vital need for systemic change, she is convinced that her personal story will be her greatest gift of service and most meaningful contribution to the healing and betterment of our world. “Run” is Laurie’s inspiring and powerful memoir in-progress depicting her treacherous journey in starting over recovered, from miraculous recovery to horrendous injustice and profound loss, and ultimately living to tell. Her story of truth, hope and resilience prompts the questions of what you would be prepared to lose in speaking up, and what you would do to save the life you once fought for.
