About Wings of Shelter
Who we are
Wings of Shelter Int’l, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) faith-based organization dedicated to the intervention and prevention of child sex trafficking across our city, country, and globe. We offer restoration, rehabilitation, and safe harbor housing to minor female survivors of trafficking while fighting against the factors that encourage trafficking to thrive.
We hope through education and community awareness to prevent victimization from occurring before it is too late. We believe that Together, We Can Make a Difference in the fight against slavery, injustice, and violence – and we hope you will join us!
What we do
Our safehouses
Wings of Shelter currently operates Safe Houses in Southwest Florida for minor females rescued from domestic sex trafficking. Our goal is to rescue, restore and rehabilitate survivors through a victim-centered, non-punitive approach.
We are licensed through the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) as a long-term group home, meaning there are no limits to how long a child might stay. Part-time and full-time caregivers staff our safe houses, both single women and married couples, to provide a familial, rather than an institutionalized, setting.
We understand the complications of long-term abuse, neglect, manipulation, and brainwashing endured through trafficking. All staff is trained with an understanding of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and its effects.
We work to empower and encourage our clients academically, emotionally, spiritually, and socially to help them heal from the complex trauma they have endured and move toward independence. Residents of our program receive trauma-focused mental health counseling, medical care, private schooling, tutoring, the opportunity to pursue extracurricular hobbies, part-time jobs
and re-socialization through our volunteer big sister program.
Our education program
In conjunction with our Safe Houses, we offer an education program to raise awareness and train individuals to join the fight against human trafficking. Our goal is to increase victim identification and to equip community members and trained professionals to provide adequate help and services.
To do so, we educate the general public, as well as law enforcement, judicial systems & legislators, medical & mental health professionals, school teachers & administrators to recognize warning signs and seek help. Additionally, we work to prevent the spread of human trafficking by educating children and students who may be at risk for victimization.
We believe that every victimized and vulnerable person deserves to be surrounded by an alert community dedicated to fighting injustice. We hope to inspire passionate, informed activists and advocates who will speak up for those who can’t and who will shed light on the darkness of human trafficking.
We hope that through collaboration with other agencies, we will see the end of modern day slavery in our time. We consult and train others in opening Safe Houses modeled after our program in order to develop a network of resources and victim services across our region, state and country.
If you or your organization would like to partner with Wings of Shelter Int’l, Inc. to receive resources, training or assistance in opening DCF Licensed Safe Houses, please fill out the form below for more information.
Meet our team
Lowell and Sally have dedicated their lives to intervening and rescuing children caught in oppression. This mission has taken them behind the Iron Curtain to Romania, Haiti, Sudan, and the Kibera Slums of Nairobi, Kenya, before settling in sunny Southwest Florida.
Upon recognizing that domestic child sex trafficking was a reality in their backyard, they set to work opening Wings of Shelter as the first Safe House for victims in Florida.
Between Lowell’s background in Education, Sally’s experience in Counseling, Psychology, and their passion for eradicating this injustice, they are recognized as leading experts in the field across the state and nation. In their free time, they love going to the movies and traveling to see their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren!
Amber began in 2017 as an overnight weekend caregiver, where she spent countless weekends working with the girls in the safehouses. She has a passion for serving others which led to her current position as the director of child services.
She was inspired to continue her education at Colorado Christian University, graduating with her bachelor’s in psychology and an emphasis in clinical counseling. Amber loves working with the staff and the girls in the program, hoping to make a difference in their lives.
Tracy Marinkovich had begun volunteering with the organization and had the opportunity to Join the team full-time in 2019. She is most passionate about training in the prevention of Human Trafficking within the communities and working with the students studying at various universities.
Tracy is married with three children and is motivated to serve God daily and the precious girls who come into Wings of Shelter.