Stephanie M. almeida
In 2016, my family started Unbound Miami in an effort to provide aid to the victims of human trafficking. It all began when my mom, Yvette, came across an article about how Survivors are often branded by their pimps with tattoos. As the founder of Miami Ink Off, a tattoo removal company, she knew exactly how to help. Because so many of these Survivors are girls and similar in age to me and my sister, Alexis (aka Alex), she suggested that we offer free tattoo removal to these victims. My sister took her up on the offer.
At the time, Alex was in her junior year of high school and I was in my sophomore year of college. I was still becoming accustomed to life in college, like learning how to balance my time and what becoming a successful student entails. I knew I would not be able to give my full effort and attention to Unbound at this time, so I decided I was not ready to take on this project. It is for this reason that Unbound Miami's credit and success is owed to my sister.
As the end of Alex's senior year approached and her new life in North Carolina at Duke University was about to begin, I was finally ready to take on Unbound. It was at this time that she handed Unbound to me. As each day went on, I learned more and more about human trafficking and the heart-wrenching pain Survivors undergo. I was blessed to meet a couple of Survivors and talk to them about their experiences. After learning as much as I could, I set up a team and began to think of ways of how we could help Survivors and raise awareness about this 'crime against humanity.' When first learning about the gravity of this situation, I thought about the first time I learned about slavery in middle school. I remembered how the class would go from being boisterous all year round to becoming quiet and solemn whenever we would discuss the topic. We would read about it as if it was a thing of the past, as if it no longer existed, as if we were saved from it. It's the 21st century and sadly, slavery continues to propagate. What I have learned is that we are not safe from slavery and that our brothers and sisters are being trafficked and sold all over the world. It is upsetting, sickening, disheartening and it needs to end.
At the beginning of the journey, my team and I experienced some legal issues and rather than letting the problem defeat us, we made it work to our benefit. It was then that Unbound Miami evolved into UNBND, developing a new logo in the process. The reason I chose a barcode is due to the fact that a barcode is an everyday object, the symbol for commerce. Everyone knows what a barcode is and what it is used for - to buy things. It has become such an integral part of modern society as it is used billions of times within a single second.
We have continued my sisters work in collaborating and helping the Survivor's from Glory House of Miami and Kristi's House Project Gold. So far, we have created merchandise as a way to raise money and assist Survivors in need. 100% of the profits go to the Survivors from Glory House of Miami and are being used to pay for counseling sessions as well as other needs the Survivors may have. We have donated computers in an effort to assist in outreach projects that entail the tracking down of potential Survivors, and so far, it is working.
Thank you to those who have donated and helped UNBND become UNBND. It means so much to me and the Survivors. Thank you for taking the time to learn about UNBND and the people behind it, for if there was no team, this would not be possible.
At the time, Alex was in her junior year of high school and I was in my sophomore year of college. I was still becoming accustomed to life in college, like learning how to balance my time and what becoming a successful student entails. I knew I would not be able to give my full effort and attention to Unbound at this time, so I decided I was not ready to take on this project. It is for this reason that Unbound Miami's credit and success is owed to my sister.
As the end of Alex's senior year approached and her new life in North Carolina at Duke University was about to begin, I was finally ready to take on Unbound. It was at this time that she handed Unbound to me. As each day went on, I learned more and more about human trafficking and the heart-wrenching pain Survivors undergo. I was blessed to meet a couple of Survivors and talk to them about their experiences. After learning as much as I could, I set up a team and began to think of ways of how we could help Survivors and raise awareness about this 'crime against humanity.' When first learning about the gravity of this situation, I thought about the first time I learned about slavery in middle school. I remembered how the class would go from being boisterous all year round to becoming quiet and solemn whenever we would discuss the topic. We would read about it as if it was a thing of the past, as if it no longer existed, as if we were saved from it. It's the 21st century and sadly, slavery continues to propagate. What I have learned is that we are not safe from slavery and that our brothers and sisters are being trafficked and sold all over the world. It is upsetting, sickening, disheartening and it needs to end.
At the beginning of the journey, my team and I experienced some legal issues and rather than letting the problem defeat us, we made it work to our benefit. It was then that Unbound Miami evolved into UNBND, developing a new logo in the process. The reason I chose a barcode is due to the fact that a barcode is an everyday object, the symbol for commerce. Everyone knows what a barcode is and what it is used for - to buy things. It has become such an integral part of modern society as it is used billions of times within a single second.
We have continued my sisters work in collaborating and helping the Survivor's from Glory House of Miami and Kristi's House Project Gold. So far, we have created merchandise as a way to raise money and assist Survivors in need. 100% of the profits go to the Survivors from Glory House of Miami and are being used to pay for counseling sessions as well as other needs the Survivors may have. We have donated computers in an effort to assist in outreach projects that entail the tracking down of potential Survivors, and so far, it is working.
Thank you to those who have donated and helped UNBND become UNBND. It means so much to me and the Survivors. Thank you for taking the time to learn about UNBND and the people behind it, for if there was no team, this would not be possible.