August 2010

A Victim of Human Trafficking Speaks Out: Theresa Flores to visit Hilton Head Island

Author: CH2 Press Release

HILTON HEAD ISLAND — Theresa L. Flores, author of The Slave Across the Street: The true story of how an all-American teenager survived the world of human trafficking, will give two free presentations at Hilton Head Island High School in September.

Flores will speak twice on September 23 at the high school’s performing arts center, 70 Wilborn Road. The first presentation will take place from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and will be open to the school’s students, faculty and parents of students. The second presentation is scheduled from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and is open to the public. Due to the content, we ask that no children under the age of 13 attend the evening session.

While living at home as a teenager, Flores was trafficked by an organized crime ring. In her book, Theresa reveals the dark secrets about what happened to her for two years while living in an upscale, suburban Detroit neighborhood.

As a licensed social worker with a master’s degree in counseling, Theresa’s story moves from a desperate girl trapped in a horrific situation to one of hope as she provides valuable insights from a professional perspective for parents and leaders to ensure that this does not happen to their own children. More importantly, Theresa’s story exposes the fallacy that human trafficking only happens to foreign women and children— it is happening to our own children more often that we want to admit.

Flores will appear on the new Discovery Channel series “Hostage” in January. Her story is also the basis for a Lifetime movie, set to premiere in late 2011.

The event is sponsored by the Lowcountry Coalition Against Human Trafficking, a non-profit group formed earlier this year to raise local awareness of forms of modern-day slavery that occur throughout the United States. The coalition was organized by the Hilton Head Island Zonta Club in collaboration with members of law enforcement, the legal community, social workers, victim assistance providers, healthcare professionals and other interested parties.

Copies of Flores’ book will be sold for $10 at the event, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Lowcountry Coalition Against Human Trafficking.

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About Us

In September of 2006, Celebrate Hilton Head (CH2) burst onto the scene with a fresh perspective on Hilton Head Island, Bluffton and the surrounding Low Country. At the helm was a team of young women (all under 30!) with no experience whatsoever in the publishing industry. The first year they made up the rules as they went along. CH2 (and CB2 – Celebrate Bluffton and Beyond), now entering their third year , has evolved into a well-respected publication with over 150 advertisers and a distribution to over 47,000 locals and visitors each month.

Content ranges from Interesting Islander profiles and arts and entertainment pieces to food and wine topics and Hilton Head and Bluffton Business Profiles. CH2’s Bachelor of the Year Contest has blossomed into a greatly anticipated media event every year with viral marketing (i.e., Facebook, MySpace) contributing to the annual readership of those issues pertaining to the contest and over 700 people attending the Bachelor of the Year party held every October held at a local Hilton Head or Bluffton entertainment spot.

CH2 strives to give back to the community in which they have been so successful by sponsoring charitable events in both Hilton Head Island and Bluffton (Bluffton’s MayFest, put on by the Bluffton Rotary), donating editorial space to worthy organizations (Bold Strokes, Volunteers in Medicine, March of Dimes), and making the Hilton Head Island Rec Center the recipient of monies raised in conjunction with the Bachelor of the Year Contest.