Nita’s Angels fights for trafficked girls
(3 of 5) “In May 2015, my sister came to me and said that she was starting an organization. She was going to call it Nita’s Angels. She wanted to help girls like herself who were being trafficked. She told me, ‘I don’t want to see other children have to go through what I went through.’ So I said, ‘Whatever help you need, let’s do it.’
“We were excited about it. In June she started filing paperwork to get her 501(c) status. But in September, she was killed. She never got to see the organization get off the ground and start doing the work. I knew I couldn’t let this end with her death. So I decided to continue Nita’s Angels.
“For 4 1/2 years, from the time she died to when my nephew finally went to trial, I did a lot of volunteer work with anti-trafficking organizations to learn as much as I could. About a week after the trial, I started filing all the paperwork and putting together our program. We got our 501(c) status last year, and we’ve been going strong ever since.
“We partner a lot with with an organization called The Entity Haven. We go to Houston trafficking hot spots two or three times a week, from about 9 p.m. until 3 or 4 in the morning. We do outreach where we provide drinks, snacks, condoms, hand warmers and things like that for girls who come up to us. And we just have conversations with them.
“If they are adults, our goal is to get them out of their situation and into programs that help start to rebuild their lives in safe locations. We don’t ever try to force them out. Their traffickers are often drug dealers and gang members, so there’s a real fear factor. If they want to exit, they will volunteer that information to us. It’s a decision they have to make when they’re ready.
“I’m proud to say that we’ve had some pretty good success. In the last month alone, we’ve helped quite a few girls exit and begin rebuilding their lives. That’s what it’s all about. That’s what Nita wanted.”
— Betty Simons
They also help trafficked minors, working with family members and the Houston Police Department.
Related:
• Pregnant mom’s life ends at hands of her son
• She fights in aftermath of sister’s death
